A Pack of Two Wolves
by Lealah Lupin III
Summary: Lupin comes across his sister he hasn't seen in 9 years. Now he's training her to become a thief like him. R&R, please! Update: Chapter 9, I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face, up!
1. Prolouge: I'll Miss You

A Pack of Two Wolves  
  
Prologue  
  
"But I'll miss you Big Brother!" On a desolate street far away from her home, just before dawn, a 6-year-old girl begs her 25-year-old brother not to leave her.  
  
"I know," says the young man compassionately. He pulls his blue blazer around his shoulders to ward off the cold. His black hair is unusually unkempt, as if he had been running all night. His khaki pants are torn at the knees, and a Walther P-38 is hanging out of the right pocket. Though his hair is so ruffled, you can still make out his black sideburns.  
  
"I don't want to leave you here, but you know the police are after me. I can't run from them and take care of you properly at the same time. I wish I could, but I can't!" He looks away from his little sister.  
  
"Big Brother, why are the Police after you?" At seeing her big brothers' despair, the girl knowingly decides to change the subject. As her dark brown hair falls over her shoulders, she too wraps a blanket he had given her around herself tightly. The blanket is green, and not very warm, but all he could find on such short notice. "Did you do something?"  
  
The man in the blazer smiles through his weariness. "No. The police think I robbed some castle just because.... And now they've dragged 2 of my friends into it."  
  
"Who?" the girl asks. "Anyone I know?"  
  
"Yes, you've heard of them, but I can't tell you their names. We've sworn each other into secrecy." Before he can even end his sentence, the sound of police sirens clashes with the quietness in the air. "I gotta hurry. Look, just stay with this family for a little while. I'll be back as soon as I can. They know my situation, and I trust them. Plus, you'll finally have a mom and dad." The sirens are getting louder. "Dammit!" he swears under his breath, so his young sister can't hear. "No more questions, OK? I can't let them find you." He starts to turn to leave, but stops, and looks at his sister. "Don't tell anyone I'm your brother, got it? No one, not even Jige- my friends, know except you, this family, and me. If you do tell anyone, we'll both be in serious danger." This time when he turns to leave, he starts running.  
  
"Good-bye Big Brother!" his sister yells after him with tears in her eyes ."I love you!" The man is to focused on drawing the police away from her to do anything but wave without turning around. Though she is a little hurt, she understands. She turns and walks into the house whose front lawn they had been standing, clutching the light green blanket to her chest, crying for herself, but mostly for her brother. This is the last she will see of him for nine years. 


	2. Nine Years Later

Chapter 1  
  
"So, Lupin, tell me again why we're wasting our time and resources here, when we could be stealing something else of far more value." A man in a black suit, black fedora, and a black beard had been wondering this for days now, when Lupin had first come up with the plan. "I mean, it's not every day we come to America, and wasting our trip on this is just stupid. You sure there is anything worth it in there?"  
  
"Jigen, I told you, in this house is the solid silver with satin lining box that contains the biggest pearl in the world, the Mother of Pearls. The house looks middle-class because that is the only thing of value they do have. So, yeah, I'd say it's worth it," Lupin reminded his friend.  
  
"It's just not like you to rob a house that poses no challenge, has no beautiful women in it, and has only one thing you want to steal. It's almost creepy, Lupin."  
  
Lupin wasn't exactly sure why he had chosen this house himself. He somehow felt draw to it, but he had to give his friend an answer, and Jigen didn't believe in fate, or being draw to something for no apparent reason, or much of anything for that mater. Lupin sighed.  
  
"The truth is Fujiko has had her eye on the pearl for a while, but she has no friggen clue on where it is. I found out, and thought I might give her a Christmas present, OK?" He felt bad about lying to Jigen, but what else could he do?  
  
"Thinking with your pants again, huh? You know how I know? Unless something messed up the calendar, Christmas is 5 months away." Jigen rolled his eyes.  
  
Lupin grinned. "Wanna get my Christmas shopping done before the rush. OK, here we go. The box is in the kids room."  
  
"So, when will Fujiko get here to pick us up?" Jigen slid silently into the open window. He knew his friend was lying, but Lupin was as stubborn as a mule, so he also knew that nothing he said or did would sway the mans mind.  
  
Jigen stood next to the open window admiring his friend for a minute. Lupin had short black hair combed neatly into place with black sideburns. Over his blue button-up shirt and yellow tie he wore a red sports jacket. His shirt tucked into khaki trousers above black shoes. But Jigen wasn't admiring his stupid choice of attire, which made him stand out like a red fox in a pack of white dogs. Jigens' own clothing all had practical uses, the fedora to help him aim, the suit as not to stand out, and a white shirt with a black tie, which also made him blend in. No, he greatly admired Lupin's mind. They had pulled off some of the greatest robberies in the world, if not thanks to his plan, then his countless back up plans.  
  
"Jigen, what the hell are you doing? Get over here and help me pick up this box, it's heavy." He had been too lost in thought to realize that they stood in the kids' room. Jigen stole a glance at the kid. She was about 15 years old, and fast asleep. He walked over to join his partner.  
  
"No shit it's heavy, it's solid silver you moron." Just as the two had lifted the box, they heard a voice.  
  
"Arsène Lupin III, how dare you steal from me!" The voice startled Lupin so much that he almost dropped the box. When he turned around he saw the girl that was previously asleep. She had shoulder length dark brown hair, and was wearing glasses and a long shirt with blue and white pajama pants.  
  
"Do I know you?" he asked.  
  
"What don't recognize me? I'm not surprised, it's been, what, like, nine years," she said in a thoughtful tone. "Maybe this will stir your memory." She took off her glasses and put a light green blanket over her shoulders.  
  
"L-l-lealah!" Lupin stammered. The girl grinned in confermation.  
  
"Huh? Lupin, what the hell is going on?" Jigen had known Lupin for years, 30 to be exact, and he never mentioned anything about a girl named Lealah.  
  
"Hi! You must be Jigen. The name's Lealah Lupin III. Nice to meet you!" She held out her hand to be shook, and, dumbstruck as he was, he took it.  
  
"Lu...pin...III? But that's Lupin's name!"  
  
"You mean Arsène? Lupin is just our last name." She shot a quizzical look at Lupin. "Didn't you ever tell him about me?"  
  
"Arsène?" Jigen raised his eyebrows at Lupin.  
  
"It's my first name. Only her and I were supposed to know about that," he explained to Jigen. Then through gritted teeth he yelled at Lealah "The name is Lupin now! No one knows my first name but you, me and now Jigen!" He turned to Jigen. "Come on, let's go outside to wait for Fujiko."  
  
"Hang on, Arsène, how does she know so much about you and why does she have your last name?"  
  
"He didn't tell you? I'm Ar...Lupins' sister." She smiled at Jigen.  
  
"Why the hell are you in Augusta, Georgia, I left you in New York City!" Lupin demanded.  
  
"Long story...." She began.  
  
"I don't have time, Fujiko should be here any minute. Let's go, Jigen." Lupin began to walk out, tailed closely by his friend.  
  
"Wait, Lupin, I have a favor to ask of you." She watched Lupins' reaction closely. He turned to her.  
  
"Look, if you want me to steal something for you you're out of luck..." he didn't get to finish.  
  
"No, no, no, no, no, no. Lupin...." She dropped to her knees and folded her hands together. "PLEASE take me with you!"  
  
"WHAT?!" Luckily, Jigen saw the warning signs and clamped his hand over Lupins' mouth just in time.  
  
"You promised Lupin! Remember, 'I'll come back as soon as I can?' Now that you are back, I want to live with you again! Please! I miss you." The last part really got to him. Lealah saw his face begin to soften. Unfortunately, so did Jigen.  
  
"You can't be serious! She's a friggen teenager! NO WAY, LUPIN!"  
  
"Well, I did promise....." Lupin shook his head. "No, it would put you in to much danger. Let's go, Jigen." For the third time they were stopped walking out.  
  
"WAIT! Lupin, I knew you were coming. Someone tipped off the Cojers', the family I live with now, and they called the police. Now, some guy with a beige hat and overcoat from Interpol is outside just waiting to catch you! I know a way you can get past them, but I'll only tell if you let me come."  
  
"D-did you say beige overcoat?" He looked at Jigen. "Pops," they said in unison. Lupin sighed. "Do you have any skills that would help us?" Suddenly they heard a voice coming from his pants.  
  
"Come-KER-Lupin. Lupin, -KER-you-KER?" He pulled a radio from his back pocket. "Damned thing! Never did work right!" Lupin said, hitting it.  
  
"Lemee see it." Lealah took the radio and opened it to the wires. "Here's the problem!" After a few seconds of tinkering with it, she handed it back. "Try it now."  
  
"Come in Lupin! I'm outside waiting for you, where are you?"  
  
They both stared at her. "Answer it," she urged.  
  
"Oh, coming in a second, over! Lealah, can you shoot a gun, pick a lock, or get out of handcuffs?" he asked her.  
  
She hung her head. "No."  
  
"Well, we can teach you all that, let's leave." Lupin looked a little uncomfortable as he said it, but he was sure they needed her. "How do we get around the cops?"  
  
She snapped her head up. "Tell whoever is driving to park in the parking lot behind the house. They're not over there. Now, just leave out of the screen porch downstairs." She bounced off downstairs, after grabbing some clothes, her shoes, and the green blanket.  
  
On the way out, Jigen stopped Lupin. "You can't be serious."  
  
Lupin had a pained look on his face. "I am. After we train her, we'll give her a trial mission to go on with us. If she passes, she's in. If not," Lupins' expression got worse, "We'll kill her. We'll have to."  
  
"Are you willing to make that sacrifice, if need be?" Jigen asked softly. Lupin closed his eyes and nodded. "Then you're a friggen fool. But, I'll trust you."  
  
Outside the night air was hot and humid. Lealah led them to a fence with a gate, opened it, and stepped in. "Here we are." Once they had gotten in the car, Lupin turned to her.  
  
"Look, you can't know where our hideout is so we'll have to knock you out for the trip over there. I left a note for the Cojers'," he said as he pulled out a needle and syringe from his pocket. "Hold out your arm."  
  
"You obviously have no idea how to do this the safest way, so I'll do it. Tie something to my upper left arm tight," she instructed. Lupin and Jigen looked suspiciously at her, but finally gave in. She took the shot, tapped the crook of her arm, and gave herself the shot where she had tapped. She immediately began getting drowsy, so she untied the handkerchief from her arm and sat down. The last thing she knew was someone saying, "Dammit, Lupin, you forgot the pearl!" and seeing Lupins' Walther P-38 hanging from a holster at his side. He finally got a holster, she thought sleepily. Then, she fell into deep darkness. 


	3. Fate of a Girl Decided

Chapter 2  
  
The first thing Lealah noticed when she woke up was that they were not in the same car. Before, they had been in a red '57 Corvette. Now, they were in some kind of a utility van. Someone had laid her in the back and put the green blanket under her head. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Are we there yet?" Jigen was the one to answer, because Lupin was up front with the driver.  
  
"Not yet. Almost though." He rubbed his beard and looked at her. "So, what was Lupin like when he was young? Before he became a thief, I mean." Jigen knew perfectly well what Lupin had been like, he just said this as a test.  
  
"Well.... Arggg, I can't think strait! I'm just still so sleepy." She shook her head to try to wake up more, but it didn't work.  
  
"Side-effect from the stuff we gave you. Once you wake up, you have to sleep it off a second time. Oh, good, were there." He held up a bandana as he explained, "Put this on so you can't see where you are." After she put the bandana over her eyes, he led her to the back entrance.  
  
"Watch out, we're going up stairs," she heard Lupins' voice say. After they lead her up 3 flights of stairs, down a long hallway, and into a door, Lupin took off the bandana. The room was medium sized, had a yellow couch in front of a T.V., and 3 doors on the left wall.  
  
"The first door is the bathroom, and the next two rooms are bedrooms," Lupin explained.  
  
"'K," she said as she started to walk over to the couch.  
  
"Hang on, there are 2 beds in each room. You can have one of them. You don't have to sleep on the couch unless you want to," Jigen said. Then, to Lupin, "Man, she's pretty out of it. Think we gave her too much?" She was trying to decide which door to go in by walking in and out of both of them.  
  
"What do I look like, a friggen Doctor? Come on Lealah, this door." He led her to the third door. After she got under the covers, he walked in and sat beside her on the bed.  
  
"I see you finally got a holster for that gun of yours," she said, her eyes only half open.  
  
He grinned down at her. "Yeah, yeah I did. I see you kept that green blanket I gave to you that night." Lealah nodded.  
  
"Listen, Lupin, I'm really glad you decided to take me along. I promise, I... won't... fail... you." With that said, Lealah hugged her big brother for the first time in nine years. Lupin was a little surprised at first, but he too wrapped his arms around her. When he broke away, he found she was nearly asleep. Lupin gently laid her down, covered her up, and walked out of the room to join Jigen, and his other friends. When he got there, no one wasted time with formal greetings.  
  
"Is she asleep?" a man with long, black hair asked. He wore a blue kimono robe with blue and white striped hakama pants. A long katana dangled at his side.  
  
"Yeah," Lupin said with a sigh, as he dropped into a chair. He knew a long interrogation was coming from his two friends that hadn't been in the house.  
  
"Good. Lupin, what were you thinking? When you said drive around to the back, I didn't know I was going to be picking up a hitchhiker!" The driver, Fujiko, was a very beautiful woman, with her medium brown hair, full lips, and a big bust.  
  
She had on a revealing yellow shirt, with a red mini-skirt. Many times had Lupin tried to steal her heart, to no avail.  
  
"Did you tell them anything that happened, Jigen?"  
  
"No way, Lupin. You did this, you're explaining it." Lupin was not looking forward to telling Fujiko or Goemon about what happened in the house, because he knew they both thought she was just another bump in the path. Neither of them had any idea he had a sister. He took a deep breath.  
  
"Guys, that girl in there is Lealah Lupin III, my younger sister by nineteen years."  
  
"You never told us you had a sister. Where has she been up until now?" Fujiko asked suspiciously.  
  
"Fujiko, I never told anyone I had a sister, and I told her to do the same. As for where she's been up until now, I thought she was in New York, but I found her in the house we were gonna rob. I have no idea how she got there."  
  
"Liar! I bet you planned this all along!" accused Fujiko. "That's why we went to that house instead of someplace with something of value in it." Lupin decided to stick with the pearl lie. He told them everything that had happen at the house, and nine years ago, leaving out his first name. Goemon listened in silence, then spoke after Lupin had finished his story.  
  
"A waiting bird does not build 2 nests."  
  
"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Goemon?" Lupin had little patience for his ancient Samurai proverbs tonight.  
  
"It means, if you left her in New York, and she was waiting for you, why would she just leave without sending you a note or anything?"  
  
"My guess is that she didn't have a say in-wait a minute, what are you suggesting?" Apparently, Goemon thought, Lupin is very protective of her.  
  
"Nothing to slight her loyalty to you. But what if she is not who you think she is?"  
  
At this point, Lupin saw what he was talking about. "I know that's her because she knew things about me that only she could know."  
  
"Like what?" Fujiko asked.  
  
"She knew my first name. The only thing that's keeping Pops from barging in here right now is that there are thousands of people posing to be me and not one of them have the same first name. The reason I never told you guys is that I absolutely hate my first name." Lupin glanced at Jigen, who had is hat over his eyes and was reclining on the couch. Lupin had no way to tell if he was asleep or not, but if he wasn't, he knew not to say anything.  
  
Goemon approached his next question carefully. "What if she was tortured into telling?"  
  
Lupins' face turned red, but he remained calm. "How would anyone know I was her brother?" Then Lupin remembered something Lealah said earlier. "When I left her in New York, I didn't have a holster for my Walther. In the bedroom, before she fell asleep, she said 'I see you finally got a holster for that gun of yours.' Do you think someone would think to pull that out of her? And I know what your next question is going to be, and if you ask it I'll kill you. I have no doubts about her loyalty to any of us."  
  
"Well, I don't know what Goemons' next question was, but mine is what are you planning on doing with her?" Fujiko was fairly sure of the answer, but she wanted to make sure she was right. Would he really be that stupid?  
  
"We'll train her, then give her a trial mission. She can learn lock picking from me, Marksmanship from Jigen, and Goemons' Samurai sword style from him. We have hundreds of guns, and I kept Goemons' old sword from way back." Lupin waited for their answer.  
  
"Tell them about what you plan to do if she fails the mission, Lupin," Jigen said snidely. When nothing came out of his mouth, Jigen explained it to them. "If she passes, she's in. If not, Lupin says we will have no choice but to kill her."  
  
"Lupin, no! She's just a kid!" Fujiko exclaimed.  
  
"So? I was her age when I got my training. If I failed, I would have been killed. If she's a Lupin, she can handle it." Despite his cold words, Goemon saw that Lupin was very troubled about this.  
  
"We will agree on one condition. If she fails, you let Jigen and me kill her. You would not have the heart, my friend." Goemons' words stung, but Lupin wearily agreed.  
  
"It's settled then. We will train her and take her on the trial mission. Now, if none of you mind, it's been a long night, and I'm going to turn in." Lupin walked to the room where Lealah was sleeping and shut the door. After he removed his jacket, tie, and shoes he climbed into the bed across from hers. He wasn't expecting to sleep, but surprisingly it came easily for him. He fell asleep not ten minutes after his head hit the pillow, the words "I promise I will not fail you," still ringing in his ears. 


	4. Enter Zenigata

Chapter 3  
  
Lealah woke the next morning to find Lupin in the bed across from hers. One arm was hanging off the bed, and the other was above his head so it was parallel with the wall behind him. He was still asleep, snoring softly. Lealah was still fully dressed from the night before, so she crept out of the room as quietly as possible. He didn't stir.  
  
In the main room, Lealah found out by looking at a clock that it was just after dawn. She thought she was the first one up, but then she saw Goemon sitting at the table. Of course, not being awake at the discussion, she had never seen him, nor knew who he was.  
  
"Hi. Are you one of Lupins' friends?" she asked cautiously.  
  
"Yes. My name is Goemon. You must be Lupins' sister. I am pleased to meet you." Goemons' answer was as stoic as ever.  
  
"Yes, I'm Lupins' sister. I guess he already told you my name. You wouldn't be able to tell me where we are, would you?" He shook his head. "Drat. Can you at least tell me what state we'er in?" she asked hopefully.  
  
"State? You are not in America. You are in Japan. You took a plane and changed cars in Tokyo."  
  
"Daaaang! How long was I out for?" She had no recollection of the plane ride whatsoever.  
  
"Forty-eight hours exactly. Would you like something to eat?"  
  
"Wow, two days. Uh, sure, please." He walked over to the refrigerator.  
  
"What would you like?" Goemon motioned for her to come and look in.  
  
"Hey, you have everything in here to make an omelet! Ever had one?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Well show me where the pans are and I'll make myself useful for once. Cooking is sort of a hobby of mine," she said as she grabbed four pans out of a cabinet.  
  
The smell of eggs and bacon woke Jigen from the couch. He had fallen asleep there after the discussion and no one had bothered to move or wake him for fear of getting something shot off. Jigen was a good guy, and the best hitman anyone could find, but he was running from the American mob, and tended to be a little jumpy about being attacked in his sleep.  
  
"Who's cooking? Please don't tell me it's Lupin. That guy is the worst friggen cook in the world!"  
  
"Hi, Jigen. Didn't notice you there. Omelets sound good?" He was shocked to see that Lealah was the one cooking.  
  
"Yeah, no mushrooms. I haven't had one of these since I was a kid. Lupin not up yet?" He looked around, but he couldn't see Lupin anywhere.  
  
"He was still asleep when I got up about two hours ago. Salt and pepper?"  
  
"Please. Strange, he's usually up before me."  
  
"Perhaps he is just tired from the past two nights, Jigen," Goemon suggested.  
  
"That's probably it. I took a nap on the plane, but he stayed up thinking this whole thing over."  
  
"Here you go! Two omelets, one everything on it, one no mushrooms. Now to work on Lupins' and mine." She pretended not to hear what Jigen said, but she felt guilty about keeping her brother up two nights in a row.  
  
Lupin woke up just about at that time. He smelled bacon and eggs, and hoped to God Jigen wasn't the one cooking. He yawned and stretched, feeling much better about the night before. She would make it. After all, she was a Lupin. Still....  
  
He turned over on his stomach and snorted. She'd make it. He knew she would. After a few minutes of hearing everyone talk, he turned back over. He decided that he would try and get a little more sleep. Plus, he didn't want to walk in the kitchenette and find it burnt to a crisp.  
  
"So, Lealah, are you really the third Lealah Lupin, or is that just something you took from Lupins' name when you were young?" Jigen had been wondering this ever since he had heard her name.  
  
"Yeah, I am the third Lealah," she answered.  
  
"What's the story behind that?"  
  
"Well, it all started with my great grandfather, Aramis Lupin. He married, and had two children, A. Lupin and Lealah Lupin. A. Lupin married, and had two children also, A. Lupin II, and Lealah Lupin II. Then, he married, and had us, Lupin and Lealah III."  
  
"Well, yeah, I kind of guessed that," Jigen stated, "but Lupins' I, II, and III are all famous thieves. Why hasn't anyone heard of any of the Lealah Lupins'?"  
  
"All of the Lealah Lupins' died before they were twenty years old."  
  
"Lupin is usually a man of his word. Maybe that's why he didn't want to bring you along. He was afraid you would die." Jigen and Goemon looked at each other. Their job just got a lot harder. Just as she finished her story, Lupin walked in.  
  
"So, who's cooking? The apartment isn't burned down, so it isn't Jigen."  
  
"Nice, buddy. If I were cooking I would burn down the apartment. If you were cooking, you would burn all of Japan."  
  
"Hi, Lupin. I'm cooking. You like omelets?" Lealah held a plate out to him.  
  
"I didn't know you cooked." He walked over to the table and sat beside Jigen. He leaned over to him and whispered "Is it any good?"  
  
"Yeah, actually, it's real good."  
  
"Ok, down to business, hey this is good. Lealah, we've decided to train you one at a time. You'll have the best teachers of the art in the world." Lupin then took a bite.  
  
"She'll have the best teachers in the world and you, Lupin."  
  
"Very funny, Jigen. I'll train you in lock picking and escaping from handcuffs. Meet me outside after you finish breakfast." With that Lupin stood up, and walked out the door.  
  
*****  
  
Inspector Zenigata was furious. "I can't believe I let him get away again! Damn that Lupin! I'll get him yet!" He was driving to Hartsfeild Airport to catch a plane back to Tokyo. "But how? He always seems to stay one step ahead of me. How the hell did he get out of this one?"  
  
Once again, the famed Lupin III had slipped through his hands. He had been chasing Lupin ever since he had escaped from jail all those years ago. Not once had he caught Lupin in nine years. He had come close many times, so close, but Lupin always managed to escape by the skin of his teeth. "I don't even know where to look now. Ahhhhhh! DAMN THAT LUPIN!"  
  
When he pulled up to the airport, he went strait to the ticket desk.  
  
"Ah, Inspector Zenigata, we have been expecting you. Your Supervisor phoned ahead to say you were coming. Here is your ticket, first class, gate 9."  
  
"Uh, thanks." He dropped his bags off on a baggage cart, and walked into the plane. As soon as he found his seat and sat down, a stewardess came up to him.  
  
"Would you like anything to drink before we take off, sir?" she asked him with a huge smile.  
  
"Please, Scotch on the rocks." Zenigata leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. When his Scotch came he thanked the stewardess and took a sip. "I wonder why he chose that house anyway. He must have something up his sleeve. DAMN HIM!" Every one on the plane turned around and looked at him. Zenigata slunk down in his chair and took another drink of his Scotch. 


	5. Lessons in Handcuffs, Guns, and Life

Chapter 4  
  
"Lupin! Where are you?" After breakfast Lealah had done what her brother told her and gone to meet him outside. The problem was he was no where to be found. She listened closely for his answer, but all she heard was chirping birds. Then...  
  
"Aw, come on Fuji-cakes, you know you want me."  
  
"That's Lupins' voice!" Lealah crept over to the bushes where she heard the voice. She pulled apart the bushes and saw her brother and a beautiful brown haired woman sitting under a tree on a rock. Lupin tried to kiss her, but the woman slapped him across the face. The force of the blow knocked him face down on the ground. Lealah thought she almost cracked a rib trying to keep from laughing.  
  
"Lupin, can we please stay focused on the task at hand!"  
  
"Aw, Fujiko..." He tried to pull her towards him, but this time she smacked him in the back of his head with the butt of her gun. Then she walked away muttering curses at him. Lealah couldn't hold back her laughter again.  
  
"You saw all that?" Lupins' face was as red as his sports jacket.  
  
"You haven't changed one bit since I was six! Hahahahaha!" Her face was red for a different reason.  
  
"Shut up and watch me." He put on a pair of standard, Government Issue handcuffs. "I knew these would come in handy someday. Old Pops left them one time he tried to catch me. Now, your first lesson from me is handcuff escaping. All you do for this type of handcuff is make your hand as narrow as possible and... there!" Lupin pulled his hands through. "Now you try." He went back to the tree and sat down leaning against the tree with his arms folded behind his head. "This will take a while."  
  
"Jerk," she muttered. Lupin just smiled and shut his eyes. After two hours she finally got out of the things. She looked over at Lupin triumphantly, but he was asleep against the tree. She grinned at him and went back out of the clearing of bushes and found that they were staying in an apartment building. She walked up the stairs and found their apartment. As she filled a glass with ice water, Jigen came in. "What are you doing?" he asked, only mildly interested.  
  
"Lupin fell asleep against a tree. I'm just going to wake him up." Jigen laughed.  
  
"I seriously doubt he fell asleep. He's a master of disguises, and rarely, excuse the pun, falls asleep on the job."  
  
"Well, if he isn't asleep, I'll just give him the water. If he is, I'll give it to him when he wakes up." She began to walk back outside. Once she got to the clearing, she found Lupin was gone. She scratched her head and looked around. Just then, someone grabbed her from behind! She threw the water over her shoulder, and thew whoever grabbed her forward. She realized only when he was in the air that her attacker was Lupin! Unfortunately, he landed against a tree.  
  
"Serves you right! What the hell was that for!" Lupin was stunned and wet, but still able to answer.  
  
"I just wanted to see how good you were with sneak attacks," he rubbed his head where it had hit the tree. "Seems like you're fine. What was the water for?"  
  
"I was going to give it to you. I guess not now."  
  
"Oops. Well, how bout lunch?" he asked.  
  
"Lemee guess, that woman is at the apartment." She grinned up at him. He grinned back.  
  
"Her name is Fujiko. She was the driver last night."  
  
"So that's why you didn't ride in the back with me. You must like her a lot." She looked a little hurt at this. As they walked back to the apartment, they heard something rustling in the bushes. Lupin cautiously walked over to the bush, gun raised. Lealah retrieved the glass and held it over her head. When he gave her a furtive look, she shook her head and made her hands in the figure of a gun. He cursed himself for not giving her one and pulled back the bushes. Fujiko stared back at him.  
  
"Fujiko? Don't scare me like that!" Lupin relaxed and put his gun in its' holster. "So, how long you been there?"  
  
"The whole two hours. Lupin, you're sister is either very strong, or you are extremely light."  
  
"Probably couldn't do it again. Adrenaline rush, ya know?" Lealah held out her hand. "I'm Lealah Lupin III. Pleased to meet you, Fujiko."  
  
Fujiko took her hand and shook it. "Are you sure you spent the first six years of your life with Lupin III? Your manners are much better than his."  
  
"Actually, Lupin was a very good guardian. He only left for my own protection. He made sure I went to a good family. And it wasn't his fault he didn't come back for me for nine years."  
  
This got Lupins' attention. "'It wasn't my fault...' Lealah, why were you in Georgia, and why didn't you mail me when you moved?"  
  
Lealah looked to the ground. "I'm sorry Lupin. After you broke out of jail, the Cojers' knew you would try to come back for me. So they moved to Georgia and didn't let me tell you our new address. When we got there, I tried mailing you, but you were already gone. I guess they didn't want me to become a thief too."  
  
When she had finished her explanation, they were at the apartment.  
  
"Ladies first," Lupin said with an impish grin. As soon as Fujiko walked through the door, he slammed it shut. Right in Lealahs' face. She heard the sound of the palm of a hand coming in contact with someone's face. Grumbling, Lupin opened the door and let her walk through. The side of his face had a hand shaped red mark on it.  
  
"Ow," Lealah winced, grinning.  
  
"Shut up and go up stairs."  
  
*****  
  
"What a meal! I had no idea you could order take out pizza in Japan."  
  
"You can't. I had to order it from Italy." Lupin grinned at his sister. "The delivery charge and tip were murder."  
  
"Ha ha, it is to laugh. Actually, pizza originated in America. So what's my next lesson, Lupin?"  
  
"Thank you Alex Trebec. Marksmanship with Jigen."  
  
"Cool. So Jigen, how do you feel about gun control?" She smiled cleverly at Jigen. He let out a short quick laugh.  
  
"Overrated. Have you ever shot a gun?"  
  
"Of course. Who hasn't?" She laughed nervously.  
  
"OK, come on, time to earn your keep." Jigen led her out of the door to a larger clearing in the woods next to the apartment building. He handed her a pistol.  
  
"OK, while you were goofing off with your brother, I was setting up a makeshift shooting range."  
  
"What kind of gun is this?" she asked him. "It looks familiar, but I just can't place it."  
  
"It's a Walther, like Lupins'. Now, try to hit the cans."  
  
Lealah raised the gun, closed one eye, and aimed. POW! The kick was so powerful that her hand and the gun flew over her head behind her where Jigen was standing. Her finger slipped on the trigger and fired. Jigen ducked just in time.  
  
"What the hell was that?! I thought you said you shot a gun before!"  
  
"I have! Just not a pistol," she said sheepishly.  
  
"What did you shoot then?" he asked, still yelling.  
  
"A twelve gauge shotgun," she muttered. Jigen reached into his jacket and pulled out a black fedora.  
  
"Here, it'll help you aim. Now, hold it with both hands to steady it. Not like that, you'll injure your hand. Try cupping your hand under the butt. OK, now try hitting the can." This time, she still missed, but she didn't lose control of it either.  
  
"Good, but keep both your eyes open. Use the brim of the hat to aim. That's what it's for." She opened both her eyes and aimed one more time. Finally, she hit the can!  
  
"How long did it take me, Jigen?"  
  
"Just keep practicing, we'll stop after one more hour." He smiled inwardly. He hadn't done this since he was in the Mafia teaching other members kids to shoot. His smile faded. Don't want to take that trip down Memory Lane. It had been almost ten years since he left the Mafia for Lupin, but he still remembered every innocent he ever shot, every kid he trained to become a ruthless killer, every rape he ever witnessed. He had even witnessed Lupin II ultimate demise. Of course, neither Lupin III or Lealah had any clue of this and he planned to keep it that way. Still, the knowledge of this haunted him in his sleep. Everyone who knew him personally knew he was Lupins' bodyguard as well as partner. No one ever dared call him this, though even Lupin knew it to be true. Still, Lupin never could figure out why Jigen always put his butt on the line to bail him out of jail or a bad situation. Jigen owed Lupin for the memory of his father. If only he had stopped King from shooting him, Lealah might not be here. He felt he owed it to Lealah to make sure she passed the trial.  
  
"Hey Jigen! HEY JIGEN!" This snapped his train of thoughts.  
  
"Huh? What? Oh, yeah it's time to go in." Lealah started to hand back the fedora. "Keep it, I have plenty. But give me the gun, you might shoot your pants out accidentally with it or something."  
  
"Wow, Jigen. Thanks. Thanks a lot!" She blushed as she handed him the Walther. No guy had ever given her anything, except her brother and foster father, but they didn't count. Jigen just lowered his hat farther over his eyes and gruffly uttered "Yeah, well," as if he didn't care. But truth be told, he did care. He would not turn this kid into some killing machine. He would not screw this one up. This training was as much as a test for him as it was for her.  
  
Lealah heard his reply and said nothing. She understood people, and she had a hunch Jigen had been through some tough times, with or without her brother. She didn't know exactly what those rough times had been, but she was smart enough not to ask.  
  
In the hallway to the apartment, they ran into Goemon. He looked worried and his clothes smelled of gas. "Goemon, buddy, what the hell happened to you?" "Jigen, come here. I need to talk to you in private." Goemon walked him over to a corner away from Lealah and said something to him so she couldn't hear.  
  
"WHAT! HOW THE HELL DID ZENIGATA FIND US?! DAMN IT!"  
  
"Jigen what happened? Where's Lupin?"  
  
*****  
  
"Hahahahahahaha! I finally caught you Lupin! And you can't do a damn thing about it. Hahahahahahaha!" Lupin couldn't move or even speak due to the stun grenade Pops threw to catch him, but he was still conscious. He just glared at Zenigata. He finally got me. I can't believe it. Dammit all! I wonder if Jigen knows yet. "Whoo-hoo-hoo-hee-hee-hahahaha! This time you'll be dead in a week you bastard! Unlike you, I learn from my mistakes!" Lupin was in the passengers' seat of Zenigatas' police van with no way of escaping because of the gas on the way to the most heavily guarded prison in Japan. All he could think about is if Jigen and Lealah had left just 30 minutes later, she would be in there with him. He silently thanked his friend for be so annoyingly punctual and all about business.  
  
When they arrived at the prison, Lupin was strip searched for only the second time in his life. He always hated this part but just like last time, they didn't find anything on him, not even his Walther P-38. Zenigata wondered about this but didn't worry too much, how many places could you hide a gun like that when you are butt naked? Actually, the reason Zenigata couldn't find Lupins' gun on him is because he didn't have it.  
  
"Alright, give him some clothes and take him to solitary. I don't want another prison break."  
  
*****  
  
"Alright, so that's the plan. Now, everyone turn in we have a long night ahead of us." Lupin had once said that if he was ever captured or killed, Jigen was the boss. He planned to keep his word and be good boss.  
  
"I just don't understand. He must have heard the cops coming. Why didn't he hold them back with his gun?" Then she remembered what Jigen had said earlier. "It's a Walther, like Lupins'." She grabbed Jigen by his jacket collar. "That gun wasn't like Lupins'," she said in a quiet dangerous tone. "THAT GUN WAS LUPINS'!"  
  
"Yes, he told me to use it. I needed to keep my magnum..." She released him. He straightened tie and started to walk away.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"By the time you handed me the gun, I cocked it, and aimed it we would be dead if someone snuck up on us and he was worth his money." She felt horrible. It was her fault. Again. Jigen turned and looked at her. When he saw her face he tried to comfort her. "Hey, it's not your fault. If anything it's mine. I should have found a gun for him to use." He thought for a minute. "How about we go visit him? I bet he's fine. Pops wants him behind bars, not dead. First, we make a trip to the nearest gun show though.  
  
****  
  
"Inspector, you need to get down here now," a voice said over Zenigatas' office intercom. "Lupins' accomplices have come to see him."  
  
Zenigata walked down the stairs to come face to face with Jigen.  
  
"We're here to see Lupin." Standing next to Jigen was a girl in a black overcoat and black fedora, just like his.  
  
"Sure." He took out a police tray. "Just put your gun on the tray. OK, now the one in your jacket, the one in your sock, the one under your hat, the other one in your jacket, the one in your pocket, and the other pocket. Did I miss one?"  
  
"Yeah, the other one in my other sock." Jigen grinned a smile no one could see. His hat was too low.  
  
Zenigata rolled his eyes. He turned to Goemon.  
  
"Sword. Tray. Now." Goemon just looked at him showing no emotion. "Goemon, you can't get in if you don't hand over your sword. It will be returned to you in the same state it was in. Except not as sharp."  
  
"Bye, Jigen." Jigen grabbed the sword from under his arm, slammed it on the tray, and dragged Goemon towards the door. "Let me go, Jigen!"  
  
Lealah started to walk after them but was stopped bye the cop.  
  
"Aren't you a little young to be one of Lupins' girlfriends?" Zenigata grabbed her shoulder.  
  
"Lupins' girlfriend? My father would kill..."  
  
"And just who is your father, girl?" Zenigata had them now. Lealahs' eyes flitted to Jigen and back again. He stared blankly at her.  
  
"Huh? Oh... uh, that'd be me." Zenigatas' mouth fell open.  
  
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Who'd you have to threaten to get her to-HAHAHAHA! So, kid what's your name?" Jigen tensed and started to edge to the tray with his guns on it. He knew he'd never make it, but...  
  
"Mitsukia Jigen." Jigens' mouth fell open. Then he grinned. She was her brothers' sister.  
  
"HAHAHAHA! You know that means 'Angelic Sharpshooter' don't you? Any kid of Diasuke Jigens' is no ange-huhhhh!...ohhhhh...ow." He fell over because Lealah had kneed him in the groin. Lealah checked to see if he was OK. His eyes were open, but he was out cold. Jigen raised his hat and stared at her through wide eyes.  
  
"Well, he was starting to piss me off." Lealah lowered her fedora over her eyes and crossed her arms.  
  
Jigen turned around without lowering his hat or his eyes. "Let's go before he wakes up." Not even Goemon resisted. 


	6. Lealah's Mistake

Chapter 5  
  
Note: Please do not torch me, it'll all work out. Close to the end, it kind of becomes a West Wing crossover, but only for a few chapters. Again, please do not torch me.  
  
Lupin knew his friends were there far before he ever saw them. Goemon had a trick with his friends, so that he knew not to attack them if they ever disturbed him while he was meditating or sleeping. He knew Jigen was in the room if he smelled gunpowder, cigarettes, and sometimes some form of alcohol. Lupins' giveaway was bad cologne that didn't even have a name. Fujiko always wore Channel #5 perfume. Well, Lupin had become so accustom to being around his friends, he had also picked up this trick without ever noticing. He smelled gunpowder, and incense Goemon always used while meditating or sharpening his sword. But he also smelled something else. Gunpowder, yes, but different than Jigens'. Where had he smelled that before? Wait for it... wait for it... wait for it... ah-ha! That smells like my gunpowder. What the... Then he remembered. He had given his prized Walther to Jigen so he could train Lealah. Shit! How could they be so friggen reckless? If Pops finds out about her he'll have her here in a heartbeat.  
  
He had been lost in thought, so he didn't realize he was being watched until a guard walked in. "Visitors for you, Lupin." In walked Jigen, Goemon, and Lealah. Where the hell did she get those clothes? he thought.  
  
"How did you get in here?" he asked her.  
  
"Dad brought me," she said jerking her head at Jigen. "I always wanted to meet the great Lupin III, so Ji-Dad finally gave in and brought me here." Lupins' cheeks puffed from trying not to laugh.  
  
"Jigen, buddy, you never told me you had a daughter. So what's her name?" Lupin couldn't wait to hear what they had come up with.  
  
"Question of the day," Jigen muttered. "Her name is Mitsukia Jigen." Lupin just couldn't contain himself. "Careful, Lupin. She kneed Pops in the crotch for making that mistake. Still don't know if he woke up or not." This only made him laugh harder.  
  
"Man, bet he didn't see that one coming. So did your Dad give you that hat, or did you swipe it?"  
  
"Dad gave it to me while he was teaching me to shoot." Lupin put his arm around her and turned his back to the camera.  
  
"You look just like a mini Jigen. What's the plan?"  
  
"Be ready at midnight."  
  
"Gotcha. Sorry, got to make this realistic." He wrapped one of his arms around her and grabbed her butt with the other.  
  
"I'm sorry too. But I have to be realistic." She reared back and slapped him as hard as she could.  
  
"Hey, buddy, pull that shit again and I won't need my gun to kill you. Let's go, Mitsukia." As they left they passed Zenigata, still on the floor groaning. Lealah laughed a high pitched laugh that could only be heard one other place.  
  
"You sound exactly like your brother when you do that," Goemon said, letting a rare smile pass his lips. Lealah grinned and thanked him, stating it must come from being around "that cop." Goemon had rarely heard Lupin use it around anyone else but "that cop" so he agreed.  
  
Once back at the apartment, Jigen had told everyone to go to bed. They had a long night ahead of them and the last thing he needed was two half-asleep accomplices. He also told Lealah to set her watch to go off at quarter till, in case he fell asleep. She agreed and walked to the room her and Lupin shared. It was only 7:00 so she wasn't very tired, but she laid in her bed anyway after setting her watch. Soon she fell asleep.  
  
Beep beep beep! Lealah woke with a start. She checked her watch. Right on time. She got up full dressed. She decided to get Goemon first. He wasn't even asleep. He had been meditating on the patio since they got there. After that was done, she walked into Jigens' room. He was laying under the covers asleep. Lealah hated to wake him up, but after all, this was his plan. She sighed as she walked over to the bed and began gently shaking him awake. "Jigen...Jigen...Jigen..."  
  
*****  
  
Daisuke Jigen was sick of the killing, sick of the rape, sick of the torture, sick of the goddamn Mafia. As he ran through the streets of Chicago, he wondered why he even got involved in the first place. Now that he was trying to get out, King wouldn't let him go easy. He knew too much. He could complicate things. But he had to. He had just seen the death of his best friends' father, and he hadn't done a damn thing to stop it. He couldn't stand it anymore. He had to get out. But first he had to get away from King. Only one of Kings cronies were following him, but that's all he needed. Jigen stopped looking back and focused on running forward. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain run up his leg. He had been shot! He fell over and his Smith and Wesson flew from his hand. It landed about three feet from him. King and his follower stood over him. The guy walked over to him and started shaking him. Jigen heard strange distant voices chanting his name. "Jigen...Jigen...Jigen..." If only he could reach his gun... Finally he reached it! Bam! One crony dead. Jigen cocked his gun and pointed to where the barrel was right up against Kings' head. Then he had to blink, because Kings cold gray eyes turned frightened. And brown. He blinked again. Now they had blue glasses around them. This time he blinked twice and his eyes widened in horror. He hadn't drilled his gun in Kings head. He had it pointing at Lealahs'! She was standing there with her hands over her head, with a horrible frightened look on her face.  
  
"J-Jigen... p-p-please! D-don't shoot me..." Jigen stared at her with a sorrowful horrified look on his face until he realized his gun was still raised. He lowered it, hurriedly, and fumbled while putting it away.  
  
"I...sorry...wha...why...bad dream...what's wrong?" Lealahs' expression didn't change.  
  
"You t-told me to w-wake you at q-quarter till. I-it's t-time to rescue L- lupin. Goemon said he'd meet us there." She backed out of the doorway slowly.  
  
"Wait, Lealah..." With a terrified look on her face, she turned and ran. Jigen heard the door slam.  
  
"Dammit! I can't believe this!" He slammed his fist on the bed. "This is friggen unbelievable! The one time I don't want to scare anybody and I cant help it!" He sighed as he pulled on his shirt and coat. As he passed the kitchen table, he noticed a black fedora laying abandoned on it. He pushed his further down on his eyes.  
  
*****  
  
Goemon heard Lealah running up to meet him at his location about a mile from the prison. The first thing he noticed was she didn't have the hat Jigen had given her. Second thing was Jigen was nowhere in sight.  
  
"Where is Jigen?" he asked her as she ran up beside him. He saw her eyes widen in fear.  
  
"H-he's getting dressed. I-I left without him." Goemon sensed something was wrong.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"N-n-n-nothing. He just...look, here he is!" Goemon say Jigen running up the road, tired and out of breath. Goemon waited until he was there.  
  
"Jigen, what's going on with you and Lealah? She's acting very strange." Panting, he answered.  
  
"I...huff huff...scared...huff huff...her."  
  
"How?" Lealahs watch went off again.  
  
"It's twelve!" she shouted back to them. It was almost as if she was back to normal, but when her eyes fell on Jigen she lowered them and turned her back on him.  
  
"I'll tell you later. Gotta rescue that friggen friend of ours right now."  
  
*****  
  
Inspector Zenigata sat at a table in an expensive restaurant in France sipping red wine. Interpol had given him the honor of telling the French police that there native thief, and his constant pain in the rear, had been apprehended. They had been so impressed and pleased that they gave him a night out at an expensive restaurant, courtesy of the Paris Police Department. As he sat eating his veal, he pondered what to do next. "Well, I'll definitely go home and see Kohoku and Miyaka, but then what? I know Kohoku won't take me back. I wonder if Miyaka misses me? I left her when she was pretty young, 8 or so. God, she'll be 17 this year. Maybe I can get my old job at Tokyo Police Department. No, not until Jigen, Goemon, and Fujiko are caught. Man, seeing Jigens' kid reminded me of Miyaka, all up until she kneed me. Maybe I can get her on assault of a police officer. Oh, that still hurts!" Somewhere off in the distance, a clock struck eight.  
  
"Inspector Zenigata?" Zenigata turned around to face a pretty woman with light, strawberry blond hair and a United States White House badge on. She was about his age, but still very pretty. He had to admit to himself that he was a little taken by her. "Inspector Zenigata? Hi, my name is CJ Craig, from the White House. I just wanted to congratulate you on your capture of the thief Lupin. I'm head of the Lupin case in America." My life is instantly better with Lupin out of the way. He thought.  
  
"Thank you! Please, sit down. Would you like something to eat or drink?"  
  
"Oh, no, I couldn't..."  
  
"Nonsense!"  
  
"I just wanted a chance to talk to you, Inspector. You make me feel so welcome!" Zenigata blushed. He had no idea why, but he felt inclined to tell her his first name.  
  
"Please Miss Craig, call me Koichi."  
  
"Is that your first name? I always liked Japanese names. OK, if you'll just call me CJ."  
  
They struck up a small conversation, which grew larger, as CJ asked the question she had been wondering since she met him. "So, Koichi, are you single?" Zenigata winced as if remembering bad times.  
  
"No... wait, yes, I'm divorced. I have a 17 year old."  
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry, what happened?" she asked with genuine concern.  
  
"Nine years ago, after I was assigned the Lupin case I had to move a lot with the job. Visits home got further and further apart, until she sent the divorce papers. Now, I supposedly see them once a year, but sometimes I miss it because something came up in the case. I haven't seen my daughter in 5 years." She laid her hand on his, which sent a shiver of anticipation up is arm.  
  
"I know how hard it is. I've never married, but the last boyfriend I had was killed in the line of duty." Her eyes shone with tears. "He was trying to buy me roses, to go along with the ring, when he walked in on a robbery. Not Lupin, just some amateurs trying to hold up a gas station. He stopped the robbery, but was shot in the process. He never woke up."  
  
"I'm so sorry, CJ."  
  
"That's why I dedicated my life to stopping criminals. And Lupin. How about you?" "Mines family history. One more thing I have in common with the anti- Christ." CJ laughed at his joke. "It was nice meeting you CJ, but I have to go. I'm catching a red-eye back to Tokyo at 3, and I need to go home and pack."  
  
"OK. It was nice meeting you Inspector Zenigata. I really enjoyed talking to you." She held out her hand and he shook it. While CJ went straight out to her car, he had to use the restroom. After he took care of business, he tipped the waiter and began walking to his car. She was nice. Really nice. It felt good to talk to someone normal for a change, he thought. Then he sighed. Too bad I'll never see her again. Just as he was inserting his key into the car door, he heard someone scream.  
  
"DAMMIT! Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap!" That sounds like CJ, he thought. As he walked over to where the noise came from he saw CJ attempting to start her car.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked her.  
  
"This damn car won't start! Oh, perfect! I'm out of gas!" she leaned her head up against the steering wheel.  
  
"I'll drive you. Where are you staying?"  
  
"Interpol headquarters."  
  
"Oh, good, my rent-a-house is only about three blocks from there." She smiled at him.  
  
"How about you drop me off at your house, and I'll walk the rest of the way?"  
  
"Oh, I could just drive you all the way there."  
  
Oh, no, I don't want to give you anymore trouble. Anyway, walking is my only forum of exercise, and I'm overdue for a workout."  
  
"If you insist." They talked while he drove, had a few laughs, and then he drove up to the house he was renting. "Well, here we are." They both got out of the car and she walked him to the door. As she stood on his front steps, she made one last attempt at small talk.  
  
"This house sure is big. I think it's Victorian, I never knew they made houses like this in Japan."  
  
"Yeah, they make houses like this all over, although the columns make me thing more of Greek style, Parthenon, whatever the hell its called, but now that you mention it..." He never got to finish his sentence. CJ had put her hands on his shoulders, and as she pulled him down to her, their lips met. Zenigata was surprised at first, but then he closed his eyes, embraced her and welcomed the kiss. He had never felt like this before, even with Kohoku. It was almost as if the world had stopped turning, just to wait for them. When they finally broke away, they were both blushing.  
  
"Uh, do you want to come inside?" he asked. He hadn't noticed before just how blue her eyes were. She smiled back up at him.  
  
"I thought you'd never ask," she answered as she pulled him to her again. 


	7. Apologies and Zenigata's Girl

Chapter 6  
  
Ten minutes after twelve, Jigen, Goemon, and Lealah were dropping out of an air vent inside of the prison. The vent was on the ceiling about ten feet off the ground, so Jigen and Goemon had no problem coming down, but Lealah, this being her first time, needed some help. Goemon caught as she fell.  
  
"Thanks," she muttered. Somewhere an alarm rang. Lealah walked over to a panel on the wall, and pulled a screwdriver from inside her overcoat. When she pried the panel open, she began tinkering with it. When she was done, she attached the panel back on the wall, cleared her throat, and said in a deep, disguised voice, "The previous alarm was false, I repeat, false alarm." Then she sighed and said, "I don't know how long that'll last, we have to hurry." Goemon nodded and ran ahead, Lealah following a few feet after him, still avoiding Jigen. Jigen stared sadly after her, and went to join the two. The hallway had led into a medium sized office. Goemon and Lealah were no where in sight. Jigen turned around, confused, thinking they might have made a turn, when two cops barged in on him, guns raised. One of them shot the gun from his hand, and it went skidding across the floor.  
  
"Diasuke Jigen, you are under arrest for just about everything in the book except tax fraud!"  
  
"Damn, I can't believe you guys missed that one!" he exclaimed with a nervous grin. How the hell would he get out of this one? Just then Lealah walked by, and looking in the door, saw his predicament. The cops tried to fire rounds at her, but apparently she had her brothers invincibility to bullets. She leapt forward into rolled on the ground to avoid the bullets, picking up Jigens' discarded gun en route. She raised it to them and they paused, giving Goemon just enough time to drop down from above and slash the two with the reverse edge of his blade, knocking them out. Lealah held the gun out to Jigen, butt first. He walked over to her to retrieve it.  
  
"Thanks, I thought I was screwed. . ." He put his hand on his gun and cocked it, still in her hand. Big mistake. She jerked her hand back, with, if possible, an even more frightened look on her face and ran down the hall. Goemon gave him an inquisitive look, and he shook his head. They stared to run after her. When they got to Lupins' cell, he was asleep on his bed.  
  
"How are we supposed to get him out? Did either of you lift a key?" Lealah asked them. Jigen and Goemon smiled at each other.  
  
"Stand back," said Goemon stepping forward. She obliged, wondering what he could do. He drew his sword and cut the bars, all in one solid motion. Lealah stared in amazement as the bars fell to the floor.  
  
"Whoa. Goemon, are you a Samurai?" He smiled at her. "Wow, that's cool! I was wondering why you wore those clothes." This got a laugh out of Jigen. Lealah walked over to the bed. "Hey, Lupin wake up. . ." As she got close enough to see his head, she let out a loud scream and fell back in front of Jigen.  
  
"What's wrong?!" She pointed to Lupin.  
  
"D-d-d-d-d-d" She couldn't even make out one word. Jigen walked over to him and grabbed him. Even he had to gasp. There he lay, dead, with a bullet hole in the center of his forehead.  
  
"Dammit, Lupin! Who could have done this?" As he spoke, he saw a smile start to appear on the dead thief's' face. "You little. . ."he growled. Then Lupin burst out laughing.  
  
"HAHAHAHA, you should have seen her face! HAHAHAHA! It's a wonder what you can do with catsup and strawberry jelly! HAHAHAHA!" Jigen grabbed the collar of his prison clothes and started shaking him violently.  
  
"What the hell kind of a sick-ass joke was that, you bastard?! You scared the living shit out of us! She's been through enough tonight!"  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Lupin managed to ask, between shakes. Jigen threw him to the bed and lowered his hat on his head.  
  
"Nothing, just come on." They began making their way back to the air vent they came from. The problem was that when they got there, they found it was being guarded. When the cops saw Lupin, black and white stripes and all, they yelled "PRISON BREAK!" and started shooting in their direction. Lupin pulled Lealah behind the corner they had just turned.  
  
"Jigen, did you bring my Walther?" he asked Jigen.  
  
"You should know me better than that, Lupin," he said with a grin as he handed Lupin his gun. Lupin grinned too.  
  
"Did you bring one for Lealah?"  
  
"I didn't know I was supposed to," Jigen replied to this. He stole a glance at her. She looked scared, but determined. This would be so much easier if I hadn't scared her, he thought. He took out his Magnum and started shooting at the cops. "Goemon, we'll hold off the cops, you get her the hell outta here!" Goemon nodded and drew his sword.  
  
"Where are we supposed to go?" Lealah asked him as they began running away from the gunfire.  
  
"I assume they meant to go out the way the police cars do."  
  
"Man, if Lupin had said that, I probably could find 20 things wrong with it." "Yes, but I am not Lupin."  
  
"Ain't that the truth!" she exclaimed. As they reached the garage, they spotted Lupin and Jigen running behind them.  
  
"Run, I planted plastic explosives!" Lupin yelled to them, still shooting behind him. "Get in one of the cars!" She and Goemon jumped into the back of one of the cop cars. Not long after, Lupin and Jigen came up and got in, Lupin in the drivers' seat, Jigen riding shotgun.  
  
"Hey Lealah, you OK?" he asked her.  
  
"Fine. Thanks for asking," she returned nervously. Then she slammed the soundproof glass that separates the back and front of cop cars shut.  
  
"What was that all about?" Lupin asked him as he began to wire the car. "There, got it!" he exclaimed. Jigen looked over at him uneasily.  
  
"Well, I kinda. . . I was having a dream. . . and I sorta. . . scared her." Lupin laughed.  
  
"Scared her? I don't think so. She doesn't scare easy."  
  
"You'd be scared too if someone you just met put a magnum to your head," he muttered. Lupin slammed on breaks. Somewhere off in the distance, they all heard a loud boom.  
  
"YOU DID WHAT?!" he screamed. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!  
  
"Like I meant to! She came in to wake me up, and I pulled the gun on her in my sleep. I thought I had it against Kings head!"  
  
"What, your old Mob boss?" Jigen nodded and told him the full tale of what happened.  
  
"Oh, well, in that case you just need to talk to her, tell her what happened. I never told her you were an ex-hitman. Hell of a way to find out, huh?"  
  
"Yeah," Jigen muttered. He hadn't wanted to tell her about his history, but now it didn't look like he had any choice. "Damn Mafia."  
  
"You say something?" Lupin asked as they drove into the parking lot of the apartment building.  
  
"No, not me. . ." As soon as they walked inside, Lealah went straight to her room, locking the door behind her. Lupin smiled. 'She really think that'll stop any of us?' he thought. Jigen walked up beside him, staring at the door. He had never been especially good with kids; the only reason he taught them in the Mafia is because he was the only one who actually hadn't threatened to shoot someone if he got the job. Anyway, those were mob brats, and they were not like normal kids. They were as cold-hearted as their fathers and the only reason they hadn't shown their true colors was that his reputation had scared the crap out of them. Back then, no one messed with Daisuke Jigen and lived to tell about it. Then, along came the curveballs, Lupin's 2 and 3. Now, nine years later, there he stood, trying to figure out how to tell a teenager he didn't mean to put a gun to her head. So he stood. Lupin looked over at him.  
  
"Hey, you gonna go in?" he asked.  
  
"Can't," Jigen replied.  
  
"Why?" Jigen pointed down to the lock. "Oh, come on, she won't mind you breaking in to apologize!" Jigen rolled his eyes at him.  
  
"It's not that. It's that not all of us have the title of 'World's Greatest Lockpick'." Lupin slapped his forehead.  
  
"You're freakin' pathetic. After I get done training her, I'm teaching you, man." Lupin began to pick the lock. "So, watcha gonna say?" he asked Jigen.  
  
"No idea. Since when did it become any of you damn business anyway?"  
  
"Since you put a gun to my sisters' head," he muttered. "There!" the lock clicked open. "Go say your apologies. And try not to be a complete jackass like you usually are. She might not like that." Jigen threw a punch at him, which he dodged, and walked inside. Lealah was sitting in her bed reading. When she looked up to see who it was, the same feared expression returned to her. She made a move to try to get out of bed and run to the door, but she soon realized Jigen had positioned himself so he blocked the door. 'Crap,' she thought nervously. She started to edge closer to the window.  
  
"Lealah, wait, I'm not gonna hurt you. I want to explain to you what happened."  
  
"I saw what happened, I was there! One minute you were asleep, next minute I was staring down a magnum barrel!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Well, a lot happened between minutes one and two actually." He lowered his eyes. "I've been through some tough times, Kid."  
  
"Like I haven't? It's not like the Chinese Mafia is after you or anything."  
  
"Your right. It's actually the American Mafia." He walked over and sat beside her on the bed. "I guess we should have told you this, but I'm a little jumpy when I'm asleep. Especially when I'm stressed out. This won't be the first time I've woken up to me pointing a gun at someone, and probably not the last." Her expression changed from hurt, scared, and angry to shocked and sympathetic.  
  
"Jigen, I had no idea. Why did you wait this long to tell me? Wait a minute, this is my first day here. Still. . ."  
  
"I don't even pretend I'm proud about my past. I didn't want anyone else to know unless they had to. Look Kid, I'm. . ." His voice trailed off. Lealah got the message, though.  
  
"I'm sorry too. I knew you couldn't have known, cause your eyes were closed, but it still scared the crap outta me." Jigen stood to leave.  
  
"Yeah, well, next time you need to wake me up, throw something soft at me."  
  
"I will," she promised with a smile. "Goodnight."  
  
"Uh. . . Yeah. . . Goodnight," he returned, a little taken aback. 'She really forgave me that quickly? She's either more gullible than Pops or really understanding.' As he left he heard her shut off her light. When he got into the main room, he sunk down in a recliner.  
  
"So, did she forgive you?" Goemon asked from the couch.  
  
"Yeah." Goemon nodded thoughtfully. Lupin walked in.  
  
"Yeah, she's a great kid. You met her before Jigen. Remember that kid I was babysitting when we were at the park? Damn, I was 22, so that had to be, what, 12 years ago?"  
  
"Hey, she was that kid that jumped out from under the bench, wasn't she? I knew I'd seen those eyes before!"  
  
"Yeah, that was her. Hey, Goemon, what's up? You seem even quieter than usual, which is saying a lot." Goemon opened his eyes and raised his head to the thief and the gunman.  
  
"Did you notice anything strange about that break-out? Like something was missing?" Jigen thought for a moment.  
  
"Well, now that you mention it yeah, but I can't place my finger on it." He looked over at Lupin who had a white face and the gleam of realization in his eyes. "You know what it was?"  
  
"Yeah," said the thief, shaking his head. "Where the bloody hell was Pops?" Somewhere, a cookoo-clock sounded three.  
  
*****  
  
Three a.m. found Inspector Zenigata and CJ Craig running to the ticket booth of a French airport, trying to get there in enough time to buy her a ticket and still make his flight. He didn't normally miss a flight, especially when either Lupin or his family were the destination, but it had been so long since he had done anything like that. He had woken up beside her about thirty minutes ago, grabbed his bags, told her to pack, and rushed off to the airport. He still couldn't believe CJ actually liked him, but there he was, trying to get a ticket for her to Tokyo ten minutes before his plane left. When he got to the desk, he recognized a familiar face; Pierre, the annoying jerk with the heavy accent that had sold him his ticket home last time he was here.  
  
"Ah, Inspector, we were afraid you were not coming."  
  
"Look, I need a ticket for my same flight." Pierre then spotted CJ.  
  
"Bonjour, Mon Cherrie!" he said, kissing her had.  
  
"Er. . .hi. . ." CJ replied. Zenigata was quite sure she had no idea what he had just said.  
  
"Forgive me, madam! I did not realize that your French was comparable to the inspectors'!"  
  
"Just get the damn ticket!" Zenigata growled through gritted teeth.  
  
"Oui-oui!" He stepped into a back room.  
  
"What did he mean by my French was comparable to yours?" she asked him.  
  
"He's insulting you," Zenigata replied.  
  
"Oh really. . ." Pierre came back in holding a ticket.  
  
"Here you are, mon ami! One first-class seat, right next to yours!" He handed the inspector his ticket as he held out some money.  
  
"Merci beau-coup," CJ said to him with an angelic smile. "Je espior pour á»tre volant avoc te encore biento^t." Then she began walking toward the gate, both Zenigata and Pierre staring after her.  
  
"You got one hell of a catch there, mon ami," Pierre said to him.  
  
"I'll be damned if I don't know it, too," the confused inspector replied. Once they had found their seats on the plain, Zenigata asked her how she knew French.  
  
"Well, I minored in French in highschool, and decided to brush up when I was put on the Lupin case, since he was French and all." A stewardess came up to them.  
  
"Would you like anything before we take off?" she asked them.  
  
"Just a blanket and two pillows," he replied to her. After she had walked off, Zenigata leaned back in his chair and slid his hat down over his eyes. Then, realizing disgustedly he was starting to act like one of his worst enemies, he took it off and put it under the seat while CJ giggled. When the stewardess returned, she found them both fast asleep, her head on his shoulder and her arm around his waist, and his arm around her shoulders with his other hand resting on hers.  
  
*****  
  
The next morning when Lealah woke up, she found Lupin gone with his bed unmade. When she looked at the clock she was shocked to find out that it was nearly 11:30! As she walked into the kitchen from her room, she was met by Jigen with a newspaper and Goemon at the stove.  
  
"Oh look, Rip van Winkle finally decided to wake up." Jigen smirked at her over his paper. He turned to light a cigarette. Lealah wrinkled her nose.  
  
"You smoke?"  
  
"Yeah, so does everyone except you and Goemon."  
  
"Nasty habit. Never liked the smell of smoke, cigarette or not."  
  
"Thank you!" Goemon said sarcastically behind her, glaring at him. "For Buddha's' sake, how do you keep the yolk whole?"  
  
"Don't jab at it," Lealah returned just as sarcastically. "Where'd that brother of mine go, anyway?" Jigen yawned a reply.  
  
"He was leaving just as I woke up. Said something about finding out where Pops was last night. It's strange that he wasn't there, he's usually harder to get rid of than head lice." Lealah let out a short laugh.  
  
"Here you are," Goemon said putting a plate in front of her.  
  
"What's this?" she asked.  
  
"Fish. I gave up on the eggs."  
  
"For breakfast?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Cool," she said as she started eating. Jigen looked at her from over the paper.  
  
"She's crazier than you are, Goemon."  
  
When Lupin returned from his outing a few hours later, he found Lealah on the couch watching TV, Jigen leaned back in the recliner with his hat over his eyes, and Goemon meditating on the balcony. He took of the hat and mask he used to get in and came over and sat beside Lealah.  
  
"Hey," he whispered more out of caution than courtesy. "When did you finally get up?"  
  
"11:30. Where were you?"  
  
"Spying on Pops. Apparently, he was sent to France to tell them of my capture, and was supposed to catch a flight back to Tokyo at three yesterday morning. Well, he made the flight, but he had another passenger with him. Man, that's just creepy. What if it's a girl?"  
  
"It's more than I can say for any of you," she told him casually.  
  
"Hey, what the hell is that supposed to mean, huh?!"  
  
"Oh, come on, I saw you and Fujiko yesterday. You were pathetic!"  
  
"I. . .she wants me!"  
  
"Yeah, whatever. How about him and Goemon?" Lupin thought for a minute.  
  
"Goemon is too serious, and I don't think Jigen takes interest in women."  
  
"You know, I'm not asleep, I heard everything you said," Jigen said from under his hat.  
  
"Good, then I don't have to repeat myself. You take Lealah and tail Pops."  
  
"What?! No offence Lealah, but isn't she a little inexperienced to do something like this? Shouldn't we wait till after the trial mission?"  
  
"No, the whole reason you're taking her is to train her. She needs to learn spywork too."  
  
"Hey, I taught her to shoot! You tail Pops!"  
  
"No, I need to do some research, and I need Goemon for it. That's why you're taking her."  
  
"What research could you possibly need Goemon for? The guy lives under a friggen rock!"  
  
"So sue me, it was just a ploy to get you to train her! Look, I'm tired, and I don't know if Goemon can drive. So you're taking her." Lealah and Jigen looked at each other.  
  
"I'll go get changed," she told him, walking into her room. Jigen stared after her.  
  
"Hey, Lupin?"  
  
"Look, you're taking her, and that's it!" he yelled.  
  
"It's not that. Are you sure she is your sister?"  
  
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Well, she doesn't act anything like you."  
  
"She spent the last nine years in foster care. What did you expect her to act like, Mini-me?"  
  
"Ok, Ok, but she doesn't look like you either." Goemon appeared inside, like a ghost.  
  
"That isn't true. If you look very closely, you can see a striking resemblance in the eyes. And she has her brothers' big mouth. I've also heard her let out a certain laugh that we all know."  
  
"See, Jigen, there you g-wait a minute, my mouth isn't big!" Meanwhile, in her bedroom, Lealah was looking for her shoes.  
  
"I always loose those things! Darn it! Maybe they're under the bed." As she began to reach under the bed, she felt something cold, and hard. "What is this?" she asked. It almost felt like the case her clarinet went in, but it was leaning against the wall across the room. When she finally managed to pull it out, she found it was some sort of instrument case, perfectly square. It was too small to hold a rifle, and too big to carry a handgun. As she opened the case she gasped. Inside was a beautiful brass trumpet. She could tell it was very old by the way the case looked inside, but the actual horn still shone like new. When she ran her hand over the cold brass, she didn't feel any dents or flaws. She shut the case and walked into the other room where the others were to tell them of her findings. They were all gathered around the TV, staring at it intently, even Goemon. "What are you all doing?" she asked.  
  
"Trying to figure out what Ozzy Osborne was thinking when he did that," Lupin said pointing to the TV. "Oh yeah, these yours?" he asked, holding up her lost shoes.  
  
"Uh, yeah, thanks. You ready, Jigen?"  
  
"Yeah. Please tell me that's just a bad joke," he said, pointing to her clothes.  
  
"Huh?" She looked down at what she was wearing and rolled her eyes. "Look, believe it or not, this is what I grabbed back at my old house. It's not my fault!" She jammed her hands into her khaki Capri's. A red jacket that stopped at her waist was covering her blue blouse.  
  
"Right, sure. Let's go." They both got into his car and started to drive.  
  
"Hey, where do we start?" she asked him.  
  
"Interpol Headquarters. The first place he would have gone would be there, even if it were the middle of the night. The guy is fricken obsessed with his job."  
  
"Really? Never would have guessed." She responded sarcastically. "I can't believe I kicked him like that. I've never done that to anyone!"  
  
"Why did you do that? I mean, he was laughing at me, not you."  
  
"I don't know. It just got me mad that he was laughing at the first Japanese name I could think of."  
  
"Well, he's not much of a social guy, as you can see."  
  
"You're one to talk." She looked over at him.  
  
"And how would you know anything about that?" he asked her, concentrating on finding Pops too much to even be mad.  
  
"Hitmen don't have social lives."  
  
"Ex-hitman, thank you very much."  
  
"Ok," she said. "Hey, you'll never guess what I found under my-"  
  
"There he is!" Jigen exclaimed, spotting Zenigata walking on the side of the road. He looked downtrodden and pissed all at the same time. "Looks like he found out about last night. Get out, he knows this car, so we'll tail him on foot." They got out and began following him, staying on the other side of the road. After a little while, Pops stopped at an apartment building. Jigen pulled Lealah behind an arrangement of bushes next to a tree across the street. As they peered through the bushes, they saw a blonde haired woman come out to meet him.  
  
"Koichi? What's wrong?" she asked him.  
  
"Koichi?" Lealah asked Jigen as quietly as she could. He looked just as bewildered as she did.  
  
"I have no clue, we always called him Pops."  
  
"Koichi, what happened?" she asked again. He looked at her with a sorrowful expression.  
  
"He escaped. Last night. And it'll take weeks to get a new warrant!" "Who?"  
  
"Lupin. . ." His voice was barely a whisper. He hung his head to the ground. "I guess you'll wanna get back to your own apartment now. . ."  
  
"What? Why would I want to do that? I love you for who you are, not what you do." She pulled him into a kiss. Jigens' mouth hit the ground. Lealahs' eyes grew to twice their width.  
  
"Lupin will not believe us. . ." Lealah began. Jigen shushed her. Pops and the woman had begun to talk again.  
  
"I know what you need," she told him, a mischievous glint in her eyes. Zenigatas' eyes shone.  
  
"Just like last night?" he asked her, hopefully. Jigen nearly choked as his throat constricted as he gasped. Lealah stared, not comprehending.  
  
"That's right," she said as she began walking up the stairs. Zenigata began to follow her eagerly. By now, Jigen was rolling on the ground with silent laughter. Lealah just stared. Finally, after a minute, she got it.  
  
"No, WAY!" she exclaimed, a little too loudly. Zenigata spun around, trying to see what had made the noise. Jigen jumped up and clamped his hand over her mouth, giving her a 'Shut up!' kind of look. Her eyes showed an apology. Pops looked as hard as he could, thinking he recognized the voice. When he couldn't find anyone, he shrugged, and with the earnest look back on his face, followed the woman up the stairs. He had decided, for once in his life, that he couldn't do anything about Lupin right now. Right now all he could do was. . .well. . .  
  
Lealah and Jigen slowly turned their heads to each other. Then, Zenigata and the woman appeared in an upstairs window. The hitman and the girl below scrambled up the tree to get a better veiw. Through the window, Pops and his girl had began to kiss again. She began to unbutton his shirt. The coat came off, the hat, and when she got to his belt. . .  
  
Suddenly, everything went dark for Lealah, and she felt someone trying to choke her.  
  
"What the hell. . .Jigen? Get off me!" Jigen had pushed her hat down over her eyes and put her in a headlock to keep her from seeing anything. She tried to throw him like she had Lupin, but he was too strong.  
  
"Keep it down! You want us to be found? Hell no, I ain't letting you go! I'm not gonna make your brother mad just because you want to see an insane Interpol agent and some bitch. . .Whoa, go Pops!" Lealah continued to struggle, as her foot slipped. She fell from the tree, Jigen still holding her by her neck.  
  
"Jigen. . .you're hanging me. . ." she tried to yell, but all she could manage was a gasp.  
  
"Hey, get back up here!" he exclaimed, pulling her up. "Don't do that again!" Jigen still had her in a headlock, but she didn't struggle any more for fear of falling out of the tree again. After a while of standing there in the dark, she heard Jigen say, "Man, if I watch anymore of this, I'll turn into Lupin. Come on, Lealah." With that, he pushed her out of the tree. She landed in some bushes, unharmed. Jigen jumped out of the tree and landed beside her. "You OK?" Some muffled yells were all he got. "Good, let's go tell your brother about this. He will not believe it."  
  
*****  
  
Lupin was lying on the couch where he had fallen asleep when Lealah walked in. He woke up as soon as she walked in.  
  
"Did you find anything?"  
  
"Yes," she said, stomping past him.  
  
"Are ya gonna tell me what it was?"  
  
"I can't, thanks to Jigen." She stomped all the way to her room. A few seconds later, Jigen walked in.  
  
"What was that about?" Lupin asked him.  
  
"It actually has to do with Pops," he replied, dropping himself on the couch. "We found him. And he was very pissed, let me tell you that."  
  
"Like I expected any less. Is that it?"  
  
"No. When we got to his apartment, a woman came out to meet him. She asked him what was wrong, then she kissed him." Lupin sat straight up at this.  
  
"What, like a kiss. . .or a kiss?"  
  
"A kiss."  
  
"No way!" Lealah started laughing from inside her bedroom  
  
"Hahahaha, you two sound like the cheerleaders at my highschool!" Lupin and Jigen ignored her.  
  
"Yeah, and that's not all. Then they went upstairs and started. . .you know, right in front of and open window!"  
  
"Oh my. . .did Lealah see any of it?" Lupin asked him.  
  
"Nah, I covered her eyes just in time."  
  
"You should have left her alone! She'll find out about that one day anyway!" Jigen gave him an incredulous look.  
  
"What kind of a brother are you?!" Lealah, on the other hand, was laughing her pants off. "Oh, shut up!" Jigen yelled at her.  
  
"Make me, Kuroji!" she yelled back.  
  
"What did you just call me?! Lupin, my Japanese is rusty, what did she call me?"  
  
"Your Japanese is fine, it's just your vocabulary. 'The man in black.' That's what Kuroji means."  
  
"Oh, Ok. Whatever. I'm goin' out. Later."  
  
"Your actually gonna let her call you that? You hate nicknames! Right?" Lupin asked.  
  
"Well, 'Kuroji' is actually very fitting. Later." He slammed the door after him.  
  
"Hmm," Goemon said thoughtfully. "Lealah, it is time for your lesson from me." 


	8. Meatloaf and Wrapped Wrists

Chapter 7

Author's note: Oh, man, it has been too long! I am so sorry, my computer crashed for a very long time, right after I went out of the country! But I promise, now that it's up, I'll update faster. One thing, "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" is a song by a singer called Meatloaf. He's awesome too. Enjoy and R&R!

One hour later, Goemon walked into the hideout and sat down at the table where Lupin and Jigen were playing cards. Jigen had returned just a little while before Goemon, holding a plethora of stolen alcohol and saying "I'll be damned if I'm raising a teenager sober." Although Lupin did see Jigen's point, he resolved to try to set a good example for his little sister and not drink excessively, at least until the trial mission was over. He also decided to tell Lealah to stay away from Jigen when he wasn't sober, for the mere fact that Jigen was one mean drunk when he really got going. Lupin, on the other hand, was a horny drunk, another reason he was going to stop till they had all gotten used to each other.

"Yo, Goemon." Jigen greeted him, not looking up from his cards.

"Where's Lealah?" Lupin asked, sliding two cards across the table to Jigen.

"I cannot teach her," Goemon replied, ignoring Lupin's question.

"Why not?" Lupin asked. Then, to Jigen, "I fold, I've got your sex life in the form of a poker hand."

"Like yours is any better," he mumbled. "Full house. Pay up."

"What the hell?! How the hell do you keep doing that?!"

"I'm lucky, now pay up. Deal was you pay if I get a full house, even if you fold." Lupin begrudgingly removed his red blazer and threw it in the general direction of Jigen's face.

"What do you want with Lupin's jacket?" Goemon asked him.

"Ah, I'll give it back after we're done. It's just the fact I won it off him," Jigen explained. "So, why couldn't you teach her?" Just after he said it, Lealah stumbled through the door, cut and bleeding, clothes shredded, and plopped down in the chair beside Lupin.

"Oh my god, Lealah! What happened?" he yelled, jumping up. "Did Goemon do that to you?!"

"Uhhhh...he did this one," she said tiredly, pointing to a slash in her shirt near her shoulder.

"That one isn't even bleeding! Who did all the rest?"

"Me. I'm not very good with a sword. In fact, Goemon forbid me from ever touching his sword again. He said I was a danger to myself and others," she responded to her brother.

"That is why I could not teach her," Goemon voiced, eyes closed.

"I'm gonna get changed," Lealah groaned, trudging off to her room. Once in her room, she flopped down on the bed and just lay there for a moment, resting. After a little while, she got up, found some spray-on bactine in the adjoining bathroom, and got to work cleaning her wounds.

In the living room, Lupin and Jigen had given up on their poker game, and Lupin was now watching TV, while Jigen napped on the couch, hat pushed down over his eyes.

"Hey, Lupin?" The thief jumped a little.

"Crap, Man! Don't scare me like that! I never can tell whether you're asleep or not! What?" Jigen smirked, then became sober again.

"You know, Lealah saw some of and understood what Pops and that broad were doing. Maybe you should give her The Talk. You think those people you left her with gave it to her?"

"Hm. I don't know. Well, if anyone gives her The Talk, it should be you. You act more like a father to her anyway."

"Like hell! You're her brother, you should do it! And I'm not old enough to be her father!" he yelled back, sitting up.

"Hey, you're more feminine than me, you should do it! And yes you are, you would just have to have a really early start!"

"I'm more feminine than you my ASS!"

"You are too, your hair's longer than mine!"

"My hair like Jesus wore it, hallelujah I adore it!"

"Hey, at least I don't quote 60's plays with bad rock-opera singers in them!"

"At least I can grow a beard!"

"Hey, I can, it's just really really slow!" The two men looked at each other.

"GOEMON!" they yelled in unison.

"Hey, don't diss Meatloaf!" Lealah said, stepping out of her room. "And I liked 'Hair', and I've already had The Talk. It's called Health 101."

"They give it as a class now? Damn, those Democrats have let the school systems go to hell!" Jigen said, laying back down.

"Saved your asses, didn't it? I need some food."

"Well, then, thank you, Flaming Liberals," Jigen said, lifting his hat and setting it back down far enough to where his eyes were visible. 'You know, he has nice eyes when you actually see them,' Lealah thought, opening the refrigerator and looking over at him.

"Hey, Kuroji, what turned you so conservative?"

"When the world works the way you want it to now, you don't really want government stepping in and screwing things up," he mumbled.

"You're still letting her call you that?" Lupin asked, eyebrows raised. "What if I just told you that it meant 'Man in Black' to trick you and it really means 'shit-head' or something?"

"For one thing, I looked it up and for once you didn't lie. Another thing is she doesn't seem like the type that would bite the hand that fed her, and it's a lot better that 'Ji-Ji'. At least she doesn't make me sound like a damn poodle." Lealah laughed.

"Hey, that's not much better than Lea-Lea! Remember, you used to call me that, Arsène? I used to hate that too."

"Yeah, whatever, Lea-Lea." She rolled her eyes.

"And I was gonna offer to get you something while I was here."

"And now?"

"Nope. Hey, Jigen, need anything?" He smirked at Lupin.

"Sure, a Coke please, Kid," he told her, emphasizing the word "Kid".

"I'd be more than happy to, Kuroji," she returned.

Goemon watched this banter with great interest from the balcony, unbeknownst to the others, storing away the conversation in his brain for later use.

"Hey Jigen," Lupin said, throwing a couch pillow at Lealah. "You might want to give her your lessons first. I'm going to teach her Stage 2 handcuff escaping for mine."

"Ooh, yeah, I guess so. She won't be able to shoot a gun for a week after those lessons." Lealah looked from Lupin to Jigen, then back to Lupin again.

"What's Stage 2 handcuff escaping?" Lupin smiled evilly.

"You'll see. How 'bout it, Jigen?"

"Ok. Let's go, Kid." He stood up and began walking out of the door. "Oh, yeah, almost forgot. Lupin, buddy, the gun?" Lupin looked at him with a spacey expression on his face.

"OH, the gun! Right! Here Lea," he said, handing her a Walther.

"This isn't yours, is it?" she asked, cautiously. He grinned at her.

"I'm never stupid twice. It's a new one. Now get lost!" Jigen led her to the same clearing they had used the previous day.

"Today we're just practicing. I won't teach you anything new until your wrist stops hurting after Lupin's lesson." This worried Lealah even more.

"Um, Jigen? What is Lupin's lesson gonna be?" she asked him. He shook his head.

"Nope, he wants it to be a surprise. All Lupins could do it, according to him, so you don't have to worry or anything."

"Keyword: Lupin, not Lealah. You're just like everyone else," she muttered, then fired off two shots.

"Huh?" She shot twice more.

"Everyone expects me to live up to the Lupin name, but what they don't get is that they are judging by Arsène Lupin, Arsène Lupin II, and Arsène Lupin III only. If they judge me by Lealah Lupin and Lealah Lupin II, I'm destined to fail. In reality, I'm expected in the very least to do something no one in our family has ever done before, to be someone I'm not. It's heavy pressure."

"Who expects you to do all of this? No one knows about you."

"You, Goemon, Fujiko, Arsène, Zenigata when he finds out who I am, my foster parents, my brothers friends in France, everyone who knows me! I'M NOT LUPIN!" she yelled at no one in particular. "Not the Lupin, anyway." She aimed at a can and shot it off the table to relieve some of the anger.

"I don't know what the others expect from you, but I admit, you're right about me. You're right about it not being fair, too. You aren't your brother, and you are the first of your family, sort of, and no one should think other wise. But what if you end up being some thing new? Better than him?"

"Fat chance," she returned, firing again.

"You already shoot better than he does," he said, nodding to the table. There were no cans left on it. Lealah's mouth fell open.

"But...but I wasn't even thinking about..."

"That's just it. Don't think; do. So what if you're not a master of disguise, or a world famous lockpick, or a renowned escape artist? You just shot 6 out of 6 your second time ever holding a pistol. That's pretty damn good if you ask me. And believe me; I know about guns." She looked from the table to the gun in her hand, then up to him.

"Jigen...thanks." He smiled at her.

"It's no big deal. By the way, you have crappy self-esteem." She rolled her eyes.

"You have crappy people skills."

"Proud of it," he said, grinning. "Come on, lesson over. Don't worry, Lupin's lesson isn't as bad as we're making it out to be."

"Arsène, what is the lesson? I have been wetting myself all day trying to figure it out." He grinned evilly. With as much medical background as she had come to acquire, he knew she wasn't going to like this.

"Well, say the handcuffs are too small for you, like these," He slapped some on his own wrists. "And no matter how hard you try, you can't get them off." He demonstrated.

"Yeah," she said, tensing.

"There is a way to make it out of these. You do it like this." Arsène Lupin III then grabbed his own wrist, dislocated it with a sickening pop, pulled it out of the cuff, and relocated it with another pop. Lealah stared, looking very green around the gills.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," she said, covering her mouth.

"Now, my dear sister, it's your turn. Here, I'll help." He grabbed her wrist and popped it out of place. Her scream was heard by Goemon inside the apartment building, with all the windows closed.

"Arsène! I can't move my hand! Oh, God, it hurts!"

"Oh, quit being such a baby. Here, I'll show you how to put it back." Her next scream woke Jigen up, causing him to shoot out a window.

As soon as I can feel my hand, I'm using it to strangle you!" she yelled at him. He tried to hide a laugh.

"It'll stop hurting so much when you get used to it."

"I swear you're gonna have Carpal Tunnel by the time your 40," she muttered under her breath. "So, what, you just want me to keep doing that till it doesn't hurt anymore?"

"Yep. Well, at least for an hour each day till it stops hurting. Each hand too. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date." He straightened his jacket and turned to go.

"Wait! Arsène..." She was torn. Lealah didn't want to hold her brother back, but it had been 9 years since she'd seen him.

"Huh? What's up?" She cast her face downward.

"Never mind. Have fun. Who's it with?" He grinned in his arrogant way.

"Fujiko. See ya, Lealah." She sat down in the grass and began practicing.

Lealah walked back into the building in an hour, alone. Her wrists hurt like hell, but being alone hurt more. She had thought that after Arsène had come and gotten her, they could go back to the way things were before, pick up where they left off. Apparently not. When she got to the door, she knocked with her head 3 times. Jigen answered.

"Sorry, we don't want any," he said, with a reproachful glance.

"Funny," she spat. She was very pissed. "Hey, why is the window broken?"

"Goemon threw a kettle. So, wrists hurt?" He changed the subject very quickly.

"Yes. Very much bad."

"Come. I will wrap your wrists." Goemon told her.

"Uh, thanks," Lealah responded. She followed him into his room, where he had bandages waiting. She sat down and offered him her arms.

"So," Goemon said. "You and Jigen seem to be getting along very well. Not many people can do that."

"How come?" She asked, wincing.

"Jigen has a very closed personality. A very small number of people know him well as we do. Perhaps he just thought that if you are living with us now, he should try to get along." _Just a test,_ he thought, _before I bring it up._ Her face fell.

"Do you really think that's the only reason? I mean, he was pretty open when I first met him." She sucked in a deep breath to beat the pain. Goemon stopped to look at her.

"First met him?" he asked.

"Long time ago, in a park in America. I was ...let's see, I was young...he thought I was 3, but I was small for my age, so I was...five! Yeah, the year before Arsène abando-left." Goemon's mind-ears perked in his head, but he said nothing. He silently decided to ask Jigen about it later.

"There, that should do. Try not to move much." They both sat back.

"You know, Goemon, you're really nice to talk to. You should talk more often." She told him. He let a rare smile pass his lips. A door slammed. "What was that?" she asked, mostly to herself.

"Jigen left." She was shocked. "The scent of gunpowder is no longer as strong." Goemon had heard all he needed. Now, he would ask.

"Lealah, I'm going to ask you something. I want you not to answer right away, not to yell, and consider very carefully before answering it." She nodded. It was obviously something to do with her loyalty of something that would be a deciding factor on whether or not she stayed.

"Lealah...do you have feelings for Jigen?"

She was taken aback. "Of course not!"

"Lealah, I asked you to consider carefully. I'm not asking to anger you." So she stopped for a moment and thought.

"No...maybe...I don't know. No one has ever treated me like he does, as an equal. My friends in America were nice, but they called me 'Dictionary Girl'." She stopped and let out a sardonic laugh. "I guess so. I know nothing would ever come of it, but still...ever had a crush on a teacher? It's like that."

"Well, he does care about you. Not romantically, but he has opened to you." They sat in silence.

"Hey Goemon? Don't tell him or Arsène, please?" He turned to look her in the eyes.

"I on my honor as a samurai," He said. She grinned. It felt good to get these things off her chest, so to speak.

"Thanks." She walked out, whistling "Paradise by the Dashboard Light."


	9. Some Devil

Disclaimer: I don't own Lupin. I don't own the lyrics at the beginning of the chap either.

A/N: As always, I apologize for taking so long. Lots of personal stuff going on and I haven't had much time to type. The chap is named after the song quoted below. Anyone who can tell me what FOX show it was in wins a cyber cookie! Oh, and the "MacGyver in the USAF" uniform is a tribute to my friend Jeff. Those of you who watch the sci-fi channel will get it.

Also, this chapter is dedicated to a friend of mine who snapped me out of my writers block by burning me 2 wonderful Lupin CD's and checking over some parts I was iffy about. Thanks, Katie!

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Some devil is stuck inside of me.   
Why can't I set it free? –Some Devil, Dave Matthews

Chapter 8 Some Devil

The next couple of days went off without a hitch. Lealah was still having trouble with her lessons, so each day Goemon would wrap her wrists, which gave her a rare chance to talk with him. Lupin had returned from the date disappointed, though Lealah couldn't figure out why ("It's just a date, right? Guys?") and had been spending a bit more time with his young sister. Jigen had the window repaired, and his lessons were going well. He, of course, had no idea of her little secret, and neither she nor Goemon were about to spill, so he continued his blissful ignorance while Lealah attempted not to seem too glad when lesson time rolled around.

Slight traces that a teenager now resided were beginning to show in the hideout. A laptop which she had brought rested on the bedside table, and it had printed pictures of cartoon characters on it. Once Lupin tried asking about one of them.

"Hey, what's with the guy with white hair and cat ears on your computer? And that is one big coat."

"They're not cat ears, they're dog ears. He's from an anime." Lupin looked at some of the others.

"Hey, she's hot! What's her name?"

"Chi. She's a robot, so don't get your hopes up," she told him with a grin.

"Damn, Kid, are there any anime you watch about normal people?"

"Um…well, Trigun…no, Vash is part plant…um…"

"Did you say plant?"

"Yeah…well…Cowboy Bebop…sci-fi, does that count?" He shook his head, laughing a little.

"Sure, whatever." CD's were scattered around her side of the room. Books were always on her bed, varying from comic books to thick novels. There were pictures pinned up on her wall, most of American TV shows and other anime characters. A very odd one, Lupin thought, was a recent printout of the man who played MacGyver in a USAF uniform. If one lifted her pillow to look under it, they would find that green blanket her brother gave her so many years ago. Considerately, she always wore her earphones when she listened to music. Everything was well and good. That was until Lupin sent the note.

Inspector Zenigata couldn't remember a time when he was happier. For the past few days there had been no sign of Lupin, but he had CJ to take his mind off of his work. Whenever his mind floated back to Lupin, all he had to do was look at CJ and he forgot all else. Of course, there were slight relapses, but it wasn't as bad as when he had gone on Lupin rampages with his wife, because CJ's job was catching him too. Everything was perfect…and if he had been in his right mind, he would have realized it was too perfect.

Zenigata was enjoying a cup of coffee just before the mail came. CJ had gone to the grocery store, and despite the good times they were having, he liked the rare moment of peace and quiet that the afternoon held. It was interrupted, however, as CJ came in with the mail. She handed the stack to him.

"Let's see, bill, bill, bill, Interpol, ooh, Mother, Lupin, bill…LUPIN!"

Dear Pops,

Congradu-freaking-lations on bagging a broad. With all your little excursions after me, I was starting to think you were a little light in the loafers. How do I know about it, you ask? Well, I sent Jigen and his kid after you 'cause we hadn't seen you in a while. I hope you didn't scar Mitsukai with all you did. Jigen covered her eyes before she could see anything too bad, but hey, you never know. Heh, he should have left her alone, she's gotta learn, but I can see where he's coming from. I wouldn't want my kid to learn from you either, Yuck! Anyway, Congrats, and I hope to see you soon.

Best Regards,

Lupin

Zenigata's face turned from red to purple to white in the span of just a few seconds.

"Koichi?" CJ asked. "What's wrong?"

LU-PIN!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.

Five miles away at their hideout, Lupin's head snapped up. "Hey, Lea, you hear anything?"

"Nuh-uh. Why?"

"Could have sworn I heard Pops. Oh well. So, wrists hurt?"

"Yes," she said testily. "Goemon has been wrapping them for me though, so they don't hurt as much."

"Thank God for good friends. How are things with Jigen going?" She brightened up.

"Really good! He says at this rate, I'll be better than you!" She exclaimed.

"Ha! Fat chance. He hasn't said anything mean to you has he?" She cocked her head to one side.

"Like what?" Lupin grew serious.

"Jigen doesn't like women a whole lot, and he doesn't like kids either really. Especially those of the female gender. Had his heart broken too many times, I think. He was actually completely against this." Because he doesn't want to see you die if you fail, he added silently.

"Really?" Her face fell. "He doesn't seem to dislike me at all. I mean, he hasn't done anything, and he's been really nice. Why aren't you worried about Goemon, anyway? Why just Jigen?"

"Let's just say Jigen is my best friend, but violence is as violence does, and Goemon can control his temper. Not to mention his libido." Lealah's face turned a very bright shade of red. "Hehehe, just kidding. He wouldn't make a pass at you. He acts more like a father to you than I do! Man, I wish he'd stop that."

"Hey, that would mean he'd be your father too, ya'know." Lupin shuttered slightly.

"God, that's a creepy image. Anyway, stay on his good side. If their's one thing he can do better than anyone else, it's hold a grudge."

"You got it, Bro. So, when am I gonna learn something other than, you know, breaking my wrists?" she asked, only half joking.

"When you master breaking your wrists. Actually, when we move on it'll get a little more intense. I'm taking you to the place Gramps first trained me. After the training in the woods. Of course, you're getting the crash course since it would take years to properly train you like I was trained. You're lucky you have such a nice brother, I was dropped into it by dad before Gramps picked me up."

"Into training?" she asked.

"No, into the woods! I had to fend for myself for 5 months with no idea where I was. Gramps finally found me and adopted me." Lealah blinked in surprise.

"Dad sure was a jerk." Lupin nodded.

"That's why I took care of you. Mom wanted to make sure he had no part in your life." Her expression became sad.

"Did she really say that?"

"Yeah," he replied. "That and, 'Take good care of her' and 'I love you' were the last things she ever said to me." His expression became sad too and he was silently lost in memories.

"I'm sorry," Lealah said quietly. Her brother's head snapped up.

"Hey, it wasn't your faul-" He stopped in mid sentence. "It couldn't be helped." Lealah's shoulders slumped and she dropped her head to the side. He put his hand on her shoulder. "Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"No," she interrupted, shrugging his had off. "I mean, it was my fault, we both agree on that. I'm going to my room, ok?" Lupin watched her storm off to her room. Then he sighed and shook his head and followed after her. "Hey, come on, you've got your lesson with Jigen. First, you gotta go wake him up though." She stared up at him, eyes wide.

"Um, I don't think that I should be doing-" Lupin held up a hand to stop her.

"That's exactly why you're going to do it. Gotta face your fears, Kid." She nodded.

"Ok," she answered as she waked off. _Jeez, what am I gonna do? Why does he sleep so much anyway? He's like a freaking cat! An intense, handsome black cat who's always alert for danger and…Not the time, idiot! Focus! Worry about getting scratched now, swoon like a schoolgirl later. Hehehe, Black and orange stray cat sittin' on a fence, oooo, ain't got enough dough to pay the… No! Focus! Damned ADD! _She found him reclining on the couch and finally pulled her mind back to earth. She contemplated hiding behind a couch and just throwing a pillow at him, but as she played it in her mind, she saw the stupidity of that scenario and opted instead to do it the way she did last time. She built up her courage and began to shake his shoulder. "Jigen…come on, wake up…Jigen…don't kill me…" As foreseen, he jerked awake by pulling his gun at lightening speed. Lealah's Lupin instincts kicked in and she responded just as quickly, ducking to the right side and pushing his gun arm to the left side, just past her head. It was a good thing too, because he fired.

"Dammit, Jigen!" Lupin screamed from the other room. His glass of bourbon had, unfortunately, been in the path of the bullet and shattered in his hand.

When he finally blinked awake and saw the situation, he lowered his head so his hat covered his eyes and said, "Your reflexes have gotten better. The lessons must be helping." She nodded, unable to say anything, chest heaving from the adrenaline. "Didn't we agree for you to throw something at me?" He could feel her hand trembling against his still-raised arm.

"Yeah, well, throwing a pillow at you and hiding behind a couch just seemed stupid." Jigen would have laughed if it he didn't think it would seem insensitive and inappropriate.

"You're probably right." They broke away simultaneously, him swiftly reholstering his gun and her standing straight, shoving her shaking hands in her pocket.

"Lupin says it's time for my lesson with you. He also wants you to quit acting like my father." She hoped he didn't notice how scared she had been.

"Tell him I'll stop when he starts acting like a responsible guardian."

"Like Sir Auron?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"Never mind, it's from a video game. So, what are we doing today?" she asked as they got to the clearing.

"Well, you're going to practice shooting without the hat so you don't become dependant on it to aim. Put it on the ground over there and pick up the gun." She did and began to practice. She was a quick learner and was soon shooting almost like she did with the hat. He had to admire her commitment. Over the past couple of weeks, she had come to be a pretty good marksman…er, markswoman. Whatever. Anyway, she was better than most of the kids he had taught. Then again she was a Lupin; give any Lupin a day and they could learn most of anything. Jigen had witnessed Lupin actually figure out how to play a complicated tune on a violin after only a few minutes of playing.

"Wow," he said. "I think you're ready for your final test."

"What's that?" she asked. Jigen grinned.

"I think you're going to like this."

"Okay, so, go for the head and the heart, and army and loincloth rules both apply. You know what the loincloth rule is, right, Kid?" Lupin, Jigen, and Lealah stood on the roof of the building. It had been set up like a paintball field, rightly so. Both Lealah and Lupin had on paintball armor and sported paintball guns loaded with, not surprisingly, paintballs.

"Yeah, I mean, even if it wasn't self-explanatory, some friends and I used to fight with sticks."

"Oooooo-kay," Jigen said. "The point is to beat your brother. If you can do that, then there's nothing else I can teach you. I'm reffing. Let me get out of the way." He ran behind a glassed-in area in the middle. "Ok…GO!"

Both of them sprang off in different directions, getting their first shots off, but neither hitting anything. Lealah dove behind a large oil drum and used it as cover as she shot at her brother. '_Jeez! Jigen taught her a lot more than just how to aim!'_ Lupin thought. He had entertained the idea of going easy on her, and he still wasn't going to pull out the big guns, so they say, but he knew now that he was going to have to step it up. He dove behind a pile of tires and started shooting too.

Lealah knew this would get them nowhere. She took a deep breath and readied herself to make a dash to the right. She managed to dodge his paintballs and return fire, nicking the side of one of the tires, but not quite hitting Lupin.

'_Well, well, well, she has dodging down. Let's see if she can use her surroundings,' _Lupin thought. He aimed at a loose board at her elbow and scored, sending it swinging around and almost hitting her in the back of the head.

"Hey! That could have really hurt!" she yelled at him.

"Do you really think a guy trying to kill you will care?" Lupin yelled back.

"Well, if that's how you're playing," she muttered under her breath. Lealah took aim at an awning above him and one shot sent it crashing down. As he scuttled out of the way, he was met by shots whizzing past his head and splatting against the glass enclosure where Jigen looked on. Jigen nodded in approval; Lealah was doing quite well, all things considered.

Lupin managed to get away without taking a hit, and fired off a shot. It hit Lealah in the left arm. She looked at the red paint and yelled to her brother, "Army rules, right!"

He called back in confirmation and was met by a barrage of paintballs. The next thing he saw was Lealah streaking past with her left arm tucked behind her back. One hit his right shoulder. Damn. He couldn't shoot very well as a lefty. He dove under a stack of boards and began to reload. Jeez, she was much better than he had expected! She even managed to get a hit in on him. Maybe after this time it wouldn't take as many tries as he thought to finally--

His thoughts were interrupted by a bag of powdered cement spilling all over him. He fell backwards and suddenly Lealah was standing over him, the paintball gun against his head, grinning widely. Jigen was joined them in no time at all.

He pushed his hat all the way down over his eyes and, grinning, said, "And Lupin bowed his head because he knew that he'd been beat. And he laid that paintball gun on the ground at Lealah's feet."

"I'm warning you, Jigen. Continue and spend the next couple of nights on the roof with Goemon," Lupin growled. Jigen just grinned wider.

"And Lealah said…" He motioned for her to continue. Her smile threatened to split her face.

"Lupin, just come on back if you ever want to try again, 'cause I told you once you son of a gun, I'm the best there's ever been, HA!" With that she fired straight into his chest, leaving him to moan in pain. As she walked away, Jigen caught something else in her expression; not really pleasure, but a since of accomplishment or…vindication, almost.

Back at the house, the gang had a celebratory feast commemorating Lealah's first big triumph. Jigen had broken out the alcohol and everyone had a glass except Lealah, of course. Lupin tried to get her to accept one, but Goemon hit him in the back of the head with his sheathed sword and Lupin thought better of offering again.

Fujiko had not made it, and Lealah was glad to have her brother and her new friends all to herself. The conversation she had had with her brother about her mother had effectively made her day a bad one, and no amount of partying and accomplishment would be able to change that. She didn't like Fujiko, and wasn't sure that she could have stood it if Lupin was fawning over her all night. The food was good, so was the company, and all in all, everyone had a pretty good time. "Well," Lupin said, yawning, "I think I'm going to turn in. It's been a long one. You coming, Lealah?" She looked up from clearing the plates.

"Yup. Give me a few minutes, ok? I just want to get all the dishes done tonight so I don't have to do them tomorrow." He chuckled.

"If I'd known that you'd be such a good housemaid, I would have picked you up a long time ago."

"Just trying to help out," she muttered quietly. Jigen stretched and yawned too.

"I'll turn in too. Nice work today, Kid. Goodnight."

"Goodnight!" Lealah returned, her voice betraying much higher spirits. After she was done she followed Lupin into their room.

"Hey, you seemed to be in low spirits tonight. What's wrong?" Lealah paused before answering.

"I…I've just been thinking about my mother a lot lately. The conversation we had earlier just…got me down. I mean, don't you think I feel guilty enough without you saying anything?" Lupin sighed.

"I know, and I'm sorry. You really couldn't have done anything about it. It…it couldn't have been your fault, you were just a baby."

"Then why did you say 'It couldn't be helped earlier?'" she shot back.

"Bad choice of words, I guess. Look, you didn't kill her. Her death was a byproduct of your birth. Don't think anything else." Lealah nodded. "Good. Now, go to sleep." She climbed into bed and turned her back to him. No matter what he said, she'd still feel guilty.


	10. Accustomed to Her Face

Chapter 9 I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face

A/N: Well, I've started something I swore to myself I'd never do; name chapters after songs. To go along with this, I've started something called the Obscure Fact of the Chapter, which is just a small fact that has some (even if it seems obscure and random, hence the title) remote relation to the song the chapter is named after. Also, I feel the obligation to apologize to J. Lucy-Daisuke if it seems like I'm ripping her Fun Fact of Boredom idea. The Obscure Fact of the Chapter actually started out as The Obscure Fact of Random Knowledge, an inside joke between many of my friends and me. Oh, and the last time I checked conversion rates, it was about 116 yen equaled one dollar, so Fujiko gave Lealah about 125 American dollars.

Obscure Fact of the Chapter: This song comes from a movie called _My Fair Lady,_ one of my all time favorite movies. Rex Harrison sings it in both the movie and the original play. Julie Andrews was originally cast as Eliza in the play, but when the movie was made, they didn't want a stage actor playing the roll of Eliza Doolittle, so they had Audrey Hepburn take the part. Coincidently, Julie Andrew's breakout movie roll, _Mary Poppins, _was made one year later.

This chapter is dedicated to my Dad, whom I based Lealah's foster father after and who recently had a close call in the hospital. Love you, D!

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I've grown accustomed to her looks, accustomed to her voice,

Accustomed to her face.- _I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face_, Rex Harrison

Chapter 9

Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon were all awake far before Lealah the next day.

"Hey," he said, tying his tie as he stepped in. "I need to talk to you guys. You know, after last night I'm beginning to think that Lealah might be ready for some more intense training. I'm going to get things ready, so Lealah's going to spend the 3 days with you two and Fujiko, ok?" Jigen groaned and Goemon rolled his eyes.

"Does _she _have to be here? I mean, no one likes her, and she'll just create problems," Jigen said.

"I agree with Jigen. It would have no qualms about spending the day with Lealah, but if Fujiko comes, I will take leave." Lupin grinned at the empty threat.

"And leave poor, defenseless Lealah to Fujiko and Jigen's devices?" He managed to stifle Jigen's indignant exclamation. "You wouldn't." Goemon growled and climbed out of the window onto the roof. Lupin chuckled.

"What the hell were you implying with that statement!" Jigen yelled.

"Relax, I just wanted Goemon to stay here. I don't want Lealah getting relationship lessons from Fujiko, and as resourceful as Fuji-cakes is, it'll take both of you to keep an eye on Lea."

"So why didn't you just tell Goemon that?" he asked.

"It's so much more fun toying with the two of you. Later!" With that he was gone. Jigen sighed. It was going to be one of those days. Well, more accurately, 3 of those days.

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Lealah woke much later to find the adjacent bed empty. This was the usual, so it didn't worry her much. She was sore, mentally and physically, so it took her a few minutes to get up the will to rise. Grimacing, she remembered what her foster father would always say when he came in to wake her for school in the mornings; "Let me see those feet hit the floor!" Sometimes, if she didn't keep herself in check, she could find herself missing him. Ok, so she did miss him.

Yawning, she dragged herself into the kitchen to find, as usual, an absent brother, an ex-mobster sitting at the table and reading the newspaper, and a samurai meditating on the balcony. "Where's Lupin?" she asked, stifling another yawn. Goemon opened an eye.

"Your brother has left to prepare things for your final training, so you will be spending the next three days under Jigen's and my care. Fujiko will also be joining us for reasons that Lupin has yet to disclose."

"Ooh, wow, sounds important. So, three whole days of hanging out with you, Jigen, and Fujiko. Why does it take all three of you to baby sit me?" Jigen smirked.

"One for each day, I guess. There isn't really much to do around here, so you're going to have to keep yourself entertained."

"That's no problem, but did Lupin leave any money? There are some things I need."

Jigen raised an eyebrow. _She's been living with us for how long and she's asking for money?_ "Such as? Make-up and things?" Lealah blushed.

"I don't wear make-up, except for funerals and plays. I only have one change of clothes, and I need some…feminine…sanitary…needs. I can keep washing the clothes, but that might cost more in water and electricity costs later."

"And what would 'feminine sanitary needs' be?" Lealah's face turned redder and she dropped her head, averting her eyes and biting her bottom lip in the process.

"Still Mr. Sensitive I see, Jigen. Hello again, Lealah," Fujiko said, stepping in. "I can spring for the essentials and make Lupin pay me back with interest later. Let's see, 15,000 yen should cover it. I'll come with you to make sure you can find everything."

"Hi Ms. Fujiko. That much? Are you sure? I mean, I don't need that much." Fujiko chuckled in her feminine way.

"Don't call me Ms., and you do need one more change of clothes for now and a nice dress is essential if you're living with us. Not to mention, every teenage girl needs to have tampons and zit cream." Lealah stared at her, mortified, while Jigen pushed his hat further over his eyes.

"Er…um…I'm sorry…why the hell didn't Lupin get this crap for you, anyway!" he exclaimed, almost as embarrassed as Lealah.

Fujiko began to laugh. "Oh, Lealah, don't be such a prude! And Jigen, I have four words for you; Open mouth. Insert foot."

"Screw you, too!" he yelled back. She smirked back.

"You wish. Come on, Lealah, we have shopping to do!" Lealah gave Jigen and Goemon a look, almost as if to say 'Help!' and then she was whisked away. Jigen shook his head, picking the paper up again.

"God help her…"

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First the two girls went to a grocery store to pick up feminine needs. "Uh, Fujiko, I can't really help it that I'm a prude. Like I said, Lupin didn't raise me for most of my life." Lealah said nervously. She was beginning to dislike Fujiko, and not just because of her closeness to Arsène.

"Oh, I know, I just like to make Jigen feel like an ass. Pick out whatever you'd like. You can read the labels, right?"

"Yes, ma'am. I can speak and read Japanese. Why do you like to make fun of Jigen?" she asked, reaching for a box.

"Don't call me 'ma'am,' either. We don't like each other, and I like to 1-up him whenever I can." She responded, looking down at her nails.

"How come? I mean, he's really nice." Fujiko snorted.

"To you, maybe. He's jealous that I pay more attention to Lupin." Somehow, Lealah doubted this very much, but nodded anyway.

"Ok, I'm done in here. Thanks for doing this for me."

"Oh, don't thank me. Lupin is the one that's going to end up paying me back. Anyway, it's nice to hang out with someone that isn't a guy for a change," she said, smiling at Lealah. Lealah smiled back, feeling sick to her stomach. This was not a woman with whom she would want to get closer with.

"Thanks."

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After a dress and a new set of clothes had been bought, they headed back to the house. Lealah bounded into the house ahead of Fujiko, purchased items in tow. "Hi! We're back!" Goemon appeared in front of them.

"Did you have a good time?" Lealah nodded and then ran to the bathroom. Fujiko poked her head in.

"Hey. I'm just here to drop off the brat." Goemon frowned severely

"She is not a brat. She is a young lady."

"It's just a figure of speech. I'm off. Flip Jigen off for me." With that she was gone.

"Ok, I'm better. Did Fujiko leave?" Lealah came out of her room immediately after Fujiko had shut the door, as did Jigen. He began to laugh.

"You don't like her, do you?" he asked. She shook her head.

"I've never liked women that use their looks to get what they want. It's cheap, and it just furthers the stereotype of the manipulative bitch, and she furthers that stereotype proudly. I hate it," she told him, her lip curling. "And I heard her call me a brat." Jigen and Goemon stared, surprised that she went off on the rant. Then Jigen grinned.

"Thank you! Now I know we aren't crazy!" Jigen exclaimed, nudging Goemon.

"How did you think we were crazy?" Goemon inquired. Jigen scoffed.

"We are probably the only two straight guys in existence who don't want to bang her. Now I know that she_ is _completely untrustworthy and it has nothing to do with my sexual preference that I don't want to bang her. It has to do with the fact that I can't trust her and I hate her friggen guts." Goemon nodded in agreement and Lealah laughed.

"Glad to know I'm not the only one! I hate the way my brother is always all over her too!" she exclaimed.

"Me too," Goemon and Jigen both said in unison. At that they all laughed.

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"Koichi? What in god's name are you watching? Is that girl singing _Take Me Home, Country Road _in Japanese?" Zenigata nodded.

"From what I'm hearing, it's not the exact song, but yeah. My daughter used to love this movie…" He stopped talking and averted his eyes as CJ looked on pitiably.

"You really miss her, don't you?" she asked. He nodded sadly. She walked up behind him and put her arms around him. "You're able to see them again, aren't you?"

"Yes, but even when I do get back to Tokyo, my ex-wife doesn't want to see me, and she does everything in her power to prevent me from seeing out daughter." He sighed. "I guess it doesn't matter. My daughter is about 17 now, and she can take care of herself." CJ shook her head in sympathy.

"I'm sorry."

"It isn't your fault. It's mine. I spend too much time chasing Lupin to be an effective anything else…speaking of which, I need to analyze that letter. Could you please turn on the radio?"

"Sure. I'll help," she replied, switching the device on. The melody floating from the radio was familiar to Zenigata.

"Huh. This song always seems to be playing when I turn the radio on…"

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Fujiko didn't come back to the Lupin household until much later that night, so Lealah, Jigen, and Goemon spent the afternoon playing poker and rummy. Jigen was the superior poker player of the group, but Lealah ate them both up in rummy.

"Great Buddha! How did you get so good at such a game!" Goemon asked, throwing down his cards in disgust. She had gone out again, causing him to retain at least ten cards in his hand.

"When our school band went on trips, this was all we did in our free time. Especially on the bus. I got so good at it, my friends refused to play. 225." She stated her score to them. Goemon sighed.

"Negative 65,' he said through another sigh. Lealah grinned.

"Twenty-five," Jigen said, leaning back and throwing his cars in the pile. "Let's stop, $35,000 in debt is my limit." Lealah chuckled.

"Hey, that almost cancels out my poker debt!" They were all laughing and chatting as Fujiko stepped in with two large suitcases. The kind that was about two-thirds Lealah's height and you had to roll to get around.

"What the friggen hell do you need all that stuff for!" Jigen exclaimed, flicking ash from his cigarette into a tray. "You're only staying here three days!"

"A woman needs her essentials, or did you forget?" Lealah's face grew red. "Now, which of you two are going to help me with all of this? There's one more bag I couldn't get up." Both men stayed stationary. "Well!" Lealah sighed.

"I'll do it," she said, standing.

"Sit down," Jigen snapped. "I'll do it. There's no tellin' if she'll try to drug you or something is you go out there alone."

"Then why'd you let her take me earlier!" she yelled, sounding a little panicky.

"Jigen isn't serious. I don't think you could lift my bag anyway."

"I threw Lupin over my head, didn't I?" Lealah retorted. Jigen raised his eyebrow.

"That's a story I'll have to hear… Come on Fujiko, you're helping me get it up the stairs." With that they were gone.

"You do realize that Fujiko will be sharing your room?" Goemon said, turning to Lealah. She groaned.

"I'm sleeping on the couch for the next three days then," she said, raising to get bedding.

"Why do you assume that _you _will be the one to be kicked out?" he asked. She blinked at him.

"I'm the youngest, not to mention a minor. I have no rights compared to any of you," she responded with a particularly sardonic note in her voice.

"I believe that you will find that you have more rights here if you will only speak up for them," he told her softly. She looked as though he had hit her, then her face reflected contemplation. Goemon knew it probably wasn't very moral to use her to take a shot at Fujiko, but it was also teaching Lealah to be more vocal. Goemon had been noticing how she tended to keep it in when she needed to speak up.

"Ok, Fujiko, you're on the couch," Jigen said, leading the way in with the suitcase.

"What! No, this place has two beds in each room! I'll just sleep in the one Lupin isn't!" Jigen shook his head.

"Lupin doesn't want you giving relationship lessons to the Kid, so you can't be trusted in a room alone with her."

"Then make her sleep on the couch!" Lealah glared at her.

"Ladies should always have a bed to sleep on. Bitches can take the couch." Her eyes blazed in fury.

"I guess that bars you from the bed! Maybe _you_ should take the couch too!" she yelled.

"We won't both fit on it because you're so FAT!" he yelled back. Lealah's eyes grew to the size of baseballs. _Wrong thing to say, buddy, _she thought.

"What. Did. You. Say?" she said, her voice dangerously low.

"FAT! FAT, FAT FATTY!" he shouted back. Lealah rolled her eyes. This was just getting childish now. The phone rang.

Lealah answered "Bialystock unt Bloooooom, Bialystock unt Bloooooom?" in her best Swedish accent. Silence from the other line, then, after a long pause…

"…Um…Ji…gen…?"

"Oh, hi Big Brother. Jigen and Fujiko are fighting."

"Yeah…um, put her on, will you?"

"Hey, Fujiko. Fujiko! _FUJIKO!_ My brother wants to talk to you." Fujiko turned back to a red-faced Jigen.

"We'll finish this later, mob-rat," she seethed. Jigen proceeded by flipping her off.

"Jigen, you don't have to get into a fight over me. I really don't want to cause any trouble…"

"Oh, that little…bitch won't be getting away with this. This isn't even her house!" he growled. Fujiko slammed the phone down.

"Lupin says if I get the only room, it would run the risk of invading Lealah's privacy, so I get the couch since it doesn't matter if you both invade _my_ privacy."

"What does _that_ mean?" Lealah wondered aloud.

"It means that Jigen and Goemon have both seen me naked, and he doesn't want to run the risk of them seeing _you_ naked, so you get the privacy of a room," Fujiko explained bluntly. Lealah gaped like a fish for a moment, her face turning a brighter red than ever.

"Have you no decency, woman!" Goemon roared.

"Fujiko!" Jigen yelped. "She doesn't need to know that!"

"Heh, at least I didn't tell her that we screwed. Oh, wait, did I say that out loud?" Lealah wanted to melt into the floor. She didn't want to hear about anyone's sexual past, least of all, his. Jigen's face was almost as red as Lealah's and Goemon had surpassed red and gone on to purple rage.

"Oh my God. This isn't happening," Jigen said, burying his face in his hand. "If I hadn't been so drunk, I never would have done that!"

"I…I think I'm going to go to bed…" Lealah stammered. The red in her face had faded into pale, and she really wanted to get out of there. She disappeared into her room very quickly. Fujiko laughed.

"She really is a prude. Well, since I've effectively embarrassed the hell out of you two, I'll just be off to-" She was interrupted by Jigen grabbing her wrist roughly.

"Don't undermine me in front of her," he told her in a low, dangerous voice. Fujiko struggled, but was obviously no match for his grip.

"Why not? What do you care?" she asked.

"Teenagers need some illusion of stability and authority in their lives," he growled through gritted teeth. "Lupin is an idiot, and has no idea how to take care of a teenager. Goemon has lived under a rock his entire life. You seem more like the type who would eat her own young. That leaves me."

"What do you know about raising a kid?" As she struggled, his grip tightened, crushing her arm. "Let go! You're hurting me!"

"I'm the oldest of three kids. I looked after kids in the mob. I know plenty about it."

"You? Her stability? Don't make me laugh! She isn't some little mafia brat, Jigen. You don't know how to take care of a normal kid." Fear showed through her eyes as his grip tightened even more.

"Do you have a better suggestion? You know she blames you that Lupin doesn't pay attention to her? I'm starting to think that's not just teen angst."

"It isn't my fault Lupin is the way he is!"

"Bullshit. You provoke him. Now, stop it!" He let her jerk her arm away from him. The he glowered and went into his own room, slamming the door.

"Jackass," Fujiko muttered. Goemon stepped in front of her.

"Don't try to embarrass Jigen in front of her. All it will accomplish is embarrassing her far worse," he said, before climbing on the roof to meditate.

"Huh?" Fujiko said.

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In her room, Lealah felt like her heart was being squeezed in two. Anger and hurt welled up inside as hot, unshed tears stung her eyes. _This isn't right,_ she thought. _I don't have a chance with him. It shouldn't be hurting like this. I shouldn't even be concentrating on this at all._ She couldn't help it, though. She hated the way Fujiko treated her as a tool to get at her friends. It was almost like how an unhappy parent would manipulate a small child to hurt the other. Her fist clenched on her pillow case.

"I'm not just some little kid!" she yelled, slamming her pillow across the room into the door. Just as the pillow fell to the floor, she heard a knock. "Whoever you are, go away!"

"Kid?" Oh. Wonderful.

"Please, Jigen. I don't feel like talking to anyone right now."

"Can I come in? I just want to tell you something," he said. Lealah sighed.

"Fine," she said in a low, defeated voice. He stepped in and walked over beside her bed and sat down. He sighed tiredly.

"Look, don't let her get to you. She's trying to hurt us, not you."

"You know, my stepmother was like her. She'd scare or hurt people for her own amusement. You know what she'd used to do when I was little? We'd go to the mall or something, and she had a car that would only unlock the drives side from the outside. So, she would get in, and I would wait for her to unlock my side. She would start up the car and drive a few feet to make me think she was leaving without me. She always had this horrible grin on her face when she'd do it. I, of course, would freak. Then she'd stop and laugh at me. Fujiko reminds me of that. Just using me for her own amusement." Jigen was silent for a moment.

"You must have hated it there," he said.

"The man was the nicest person you'll ever meet. I'll never understand how they got married." He smiled sadly.

"You can't really help who you fall for." Lealah nodded. Yeah, she understood. "Just like Lupin couldn't help it that he fell for the Wicked Bitch of the West." Jigen got a giggle for that one. He smiled. "Good. Get some sleep tonight, ok? This bedroom was hard-won."

"Ok. Goodnight, Jigen."

"Goodnight, Kid.

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The next day Lealah woke up uncharacteristically early. When she turned over, it was 7:02. She felt entitled to roll over and fall back to sleep, but found that she couldn't. She didn't feel like listening to music, so she stood up and went into the kitchen. Fujiko was gone, and no one else was up yet. Turning on the TV, she decided to lounge around for 30 minutes, then cook breakfast.

30 minutes later, she was cooking a traditional Japanese style breakfast with her headphones in. Goemon came in first.

"Lealah?" She couldn't hear him. "Lealah!" After the second try, he lifted the headphones from her ears.

"Whaa..? Oh, hi! Sorry about that!"

"What are you cooking?"

"Miso soup and rice. Figured it would be nice to deviate from an American breakfast." He nodded.

"What are you listening to?"

"_The Phantom of the Opera _soundtrack. I don't think you would have heard of it." He shook his head. "Well, it was originally a play based off of a book by a French author. Andrew Lloyd Weber wrote the play, and then did a movie recently. I like the singers in the movie better, so I got the soundtrack."

"What song?" Jigen asked stepping in.

"Good morning! _Music of the Night._ That and _The Phantom of the Opera_ are my favorites. Don't tell me you saw the play?"

"Yeah, actually. I took my sister to see it when it first came out. She liked the _Phantom _theme too. Hell, that was around the time you were born, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was. Have you seen any plays, Goemon?"

"When I was in America, I saw _Miss Saigon_. It was not as impressive as _Madame Butterfly._ All the others I have seen were kabuki."

"Hehehe, Japanese Shakespeare," Lealah muttered.

"Huh?" Jigen asked.

"In kabuki, male characters play female ones, like back when Shakespeare first wrote his plays. Anyway, here's breakfast!" She set plates in front of everyone. "I'm glad Fujiko's gone. Last night was…" Her voice trailed off.

"I know what you mean. She always causes trouble like that when she comes around. A couple of times when she's working an angle, she'll hit on Lupin, and try to seduce him into working with her," Jigen said, taking a swig of coffee.

"The woman has no morals. Leave it at that," Goemon announced. Lealah nodded.

"Ok," she said, leaning back. "So, what are we going to do today? More cards?"

"No!" Goemon and Jigen yelled in unison. Lealah grinned.

"Ok, then what?" Jigen glanced over at the TV, trying to avoid the question, which was playing Jerry Springer at the moment.

"Hey, why are we getting American channels in Japan?" he asked Goemon. Goemon looked back and gave the universal confused expression.

"Oh, that! I set up new connection to the satellite on the roof. I figured that if I was going to become a thief, I might start by stealing cable." Jigen stared at her.

"When did you do this?"

"Well, one night I had insomnia and got up and did it. It was a pain trying to do it quietly enough not to wake anyone."

"How did you learn how to do all this?" he asked. She shrugged.

"I used to take things apart for fun. I'd get in trouble if my foster parents found it, so I learned how to put it back together. It wasn't all that hard," she responded, yawning.

"Well, you certainly are skilled at electronics," Goemon said. She grinned.

"Tried and true gamer, right here." His face screwed up into a look of confusion, and Jigen laughed.

"I should have figured you for a gamer! You seem like the type," he remarked.

"What's that supposed to mean!" she exclaimed in mock offence. He just laughed. _God knows we need a tech expert in the group, even if she is just 15. Sometimes Lupin just doesn't cut it. _He looked over at her. She was laughing at something Goemon said in response to his earlier comment. _Jeez, she'd better make it though this test. I don't know if I'll be able to do it if she doesn't…_

"So, what do you want to do today, Kid?"

"I dunno. Since you two dispelled the suggestion of more cards, I don't really have any other suggestions." _Oh, what do teenagers like to do for fun? She deserves some of it if she's going to…fail. Don't think like that. She won't. Ok, teenage fun. Friends? None here. Shopping? Oh yeah._

"There's a mall down a couple of blocks from here. How about that?" Lealah forced a smile. She had always been a little odd for a girl, and she really didn't care for shopping. It was almost like that little switch in her brain that puberty usually flips that told her to like clothes had been surpassed. She saw he was trying to do something nice for her though, and decided to roll with it, to be polite.

"Sounds great! Lemme go get my shoes!" She scampered off to her bedroom.

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"What are we doing here?" Goemon asked outside of a Japanese clothing store.

"Giving Lealah a few moments of happiness before she has to go off on this insane training trip with Lupin." He checked his watch. "I can't take much more of this. Let's go find her." Both of them were surprised to find her in the arcade.

"I thought you'd want to go shopping or something!" Jigen said, catching her in between DDR matches.

"Nah, I hate clothes shopping, and the DDR machines here are so much better than the ones in America!" Jigen and Goemon looked at each other and shrugged.

"As long as she's having a good time, correct?" Jigen nodded, and they both went to sit in the food court. An hour later, Lealah came to join them, thoroughly tired and pleased.

"Ah, that was fun. I'll have to pay that kid back for the quarters I pick-pocketed next time I see him. I am sooooo tired."

"Let's head back. It's almost time for dinner." Jigen said. Lealah nodded 'ok.' Back at the apartment, they ate leftovers from the night before, and settled in to watch a movie. The movie was _Tombstone_ with Kurt Russell. Jigen said it was the only current western he could stand, and Lealah had already seen and loved it.

"Doc Holiday is so awesome in this movie!" she said gleefully, after hearing his signature line of the movie ("I'm your huckleberry.")

"Aw, he's just a lunger! Urp was a whole hell of a lot cooler!" Jigen returned. Goemon was left out again. He didn't really mind. He had always thought of himself more as an observant party than an active one anyway.

"No way! Holiday was so much cooler! He had better aim than you!"

"Oh, yeah, right! When he was sober, maybe!" They were still arguing happily when Fujiko waltzed in. They quieted immediately.

"Hi, Lealah. Goemon. Jigen. Are you guys going to be up much longer? I'm kind of tired." Goemon and Lealah looked at each other. She was certainly being nice.

"Yeah, this is a tape. I think I'm going to turn in, too." Jigen said, stretching.

"Yes. Sleep would be a good idea. Lealah, perhaps you should also go to sleep. I don't believe you got much sleep last night, did you?"

_Damn him,_ she thought.

"You aren't sleeping?" Fujiko asked.

"I got a good 3 and a half hours. I'll go to bed, though. Good night."

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The next day wasn't much different. Lealah stayed around re-organizing her side of the room while Jigen and Goemon played pool together on the roof. It was amazing the things they could get up there.

Busy housework was Lealah's excuse to mull things around in her mind. She wasn't stupid. They were all treating her like glass, and she saw it. Granted, they didn't usually have a young girl on the team, but still, she felt something was going on. And what was 'training' with her brother going to be like? That worried her a little bit. He could be tough when he wanted to, and serious. And she knew that her grandfather had been a bit hard on him when he had been the one being taught. She was worried. Then there were her own feelings for a certain gunman who, if she could pass the training, she would be living with. This was definitely a situation she'd never been in before. Of course, she'd had crushes before, but she never lived with or worked so closely with them before. It was different with him, too, since she knew deep down that nothing ever could come out of it. It made it a little easier, somehow. And then there was Fujiko. Lealah did not like her at all, and not just because of Lupin's obsession over her. There was just something about that woman Lealah just couldn't stand…

Lealah sighed. _I guess I'll just have to wait to see how it all turns out…it's the only thing I can do…_ Suddenly, she heard the door open and Jigen and Goemon walked in.

"You know, you didn't have to slice the pool table in half," Jigen commented, sitting on the couch.

"I was losing. It was unacceptable."

"You still didn't have to cut it in half. Now we're gonna have to buy another one," he responded, sighing.

"I bet that'll be a pain," Lealah said, coming out of her room for a brief interval.

"Yeah, it will. A gigantic one. And it's coming out of his share of the next heist!" Jigen said, pointing at Goemon. She smiled and shook her head.

"I do not believe I should have to pay for it. Why do we need another game like that?" Goemon asked.

"It's something to do! Lupin and I don't meditate in our spare time like you do. God knows Lupin _needs_ to stay amused or bad things happen." Lealah laughed.

"That's the truth. I'm almost done with the room, can we finish the movie after I'm done?"

"Sure, sounds good," Jigen responded, craning his neck around to look at her.

"Ok." She walked back in humming something he recognized as being from her _Phantom of the Opera _CD. He sighed and turned to Goemon as she shut the door.

"Who knew anyone related to Lupin could be like that?" Goemon nodded.

"She seems like a respectable young woman," he replied.

"Woman! Ha! She's still a kid!" Jigen rubbed his eyes. "It's gonna be hard if she fails. Why the hell did you volunteer _me,_ anyway?"

"I don't kill children and it is what needs to be done," he said coolly. Jigen exploded.

"You son of a bitch! You think _I _kill kids! What happened to 'young woman,' huh!" He sighed and rubbed his eyes again. "Jeez. I don't know if I'll be able to do it. I haven't killed anyone in cold blood in a long time, much less a kid."

"Have you grown to like her?" Goemon inquired. Jigen glared at him.

"If you're referring to Lupin's comment that morning he left, you can both go to hell. As a friend, I don't know, maybe. She's a lot like my sister. More outspoken and outgoing, but that isn't hard to do." Goemon nodded.

"I wonder why Lupin suggested this. I could never kill a sister of mine." Jigen laughed a little in a sad way.

"Heh, I almost killed _Lupin_ to protect my sister once. It's the way his whole family has been taught. He actually _would_ have died if he failed at any of the tests his grandfather had given him. And his father… well, let's just say Lealah was raised by Lupin instead of their father for a good reason."

"I'm done!" Lealah exclaimed, emerging from her room. "Ready for the movie?"

"Yep!" Jigen said back, faking cheery as best he could. "Put it in!"

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Two o'clock that morning found them all sleeping soundly, even Goemon. Lealah was startled away by a noise outside. At first she dismissed it as a nighttime animal, then she realized it came from the hall outside of their apartment. She almost dismissed that as other tenants, until the noises got closer to theirs.

"Don't worry, I won't get caught. He's gone," Lealah heard a faint voice say. A tight tugging started in her stomach. Then she heard the unmistakable scritch-scratch of someone picking a lock. Lealah bolted up. _Oh god, what do I do! Uh…Jigen. Get Jigen._ She knew that as well as the police, the group had many enemies that wouldn't bother giving them any trial besides trial-by-fire. She crept across to the door that adjoined the rooms and slipped inside. She could barely make out his sleeping figure in the dark.

"Jigen?" She was surprised at how filled of fright her voice was. "Jigen, please wake up…"

"What?" he said, finally waking. His voice was clouded with heavy sleep.

"There's someone outside." He sighed tiredly.

"It's probably just Fujiko, Kid. Go back to sleep." Just as he finished his sentence, whoever was picking the lock jerked it loudly and cursed under his breath. Jigen froze, listening closer, then turned to Lealah and said quietly, "Get your gun." She nodded and as she went to get it, Jigen woke Goemon and alerted him to the situation.

A few minutes later, they all stood in front of the door, weapons draw, ready for anything that might come through. Butterflies fluttered in Lealah's stomach. This was her first real bit of trouble… Slowly, the lock finally turned and the lock creaked open… and in stepped Fujiko to find to guns to her head and a particularly sharp sword to her throat.

"What the hell are you all doing!"

"Fujiko!" Jigen yelped. Lealah let out a held breath and lowered her gun. "You scared us to death!"

"I scared you!"

"What were you doing?" Lealah asked.

"I went out to meet someone. I'm just getting back. I'm guessing from the pajamas you all were asleep." Lealah nodded. "Well, that's where I'm headed. All of you, get out so I can change." Mumbling to themselves, they all began to head back to their rooms. A smile came across Lealah's face.

"What are you so happy about?" Jigen muttered.

"You didn't try to blow my head off when I woke you up," she said. Realizing that he hadn't, and grin spread across his face too. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a half-hearted hug.

"I guess I've gotten used to you, Kid." Lealah, still grinning, hugged him back. She was glad of it.


End file.
